Programs & Events

History U

Professor Ned Blackhawk

American Indian History: Recasting the Narrative

This course will introduce and explore the complexities of American Indian history, a field of study ignored for generations. Indigenous peoples have fundamentally shaped and defined the modern world. From the founding of the first European settlements in North America to continuing debates over the meanings of American democracy, Indian history remains integral to understanding US history and culture. Through a series of engaging lectures, students will be introduced to stories that elucidate the persecution and perseverance of American Indians. Some of the topics included in this course are:

  • The Columbian Exchange
  • The Iroquois Confederacy
  • The Seven Years’ War
  • Native Peoples and the American Revolution
  • The Indian Removal Act
  • Native Peoples during the Civil War
  • The Assimilation Era
  • Native Activism during the Twentieth Century

Read the course outline here and listen to a history teacher introduce the course below.

STUDENTS- REGISTER HERE

Please create a free K–12 student account. Note: Only K–12 logged-in students will be able to access the registration form.

COURSE CONTENT

  • Thirty videos led by Professor Ned Blackhawk
  • A certificate of completion for 12 hours of course time

Readings: Recommended readings related to the course are listed in the Resources link on the course page. You are not required to read or purchase any print materials. Quizzes are based on the content of the recordings rather than the readings.

Course Access: After registering, you may access your course by logging in and going to My Courses under My Account.

PROFESSOR

Ned Blackhawk (Western Shoshone) is the Howard R. Lamar Professor of History and American Studies at Yale University. He has written extensively about American Indian History. His highly praised 2006 book, Violence over the Land: Indians and Empires in the Early American West, re-examines the history of the Great Basin through the experiences of the Ute, Paiute, and Shoshone Indians. In 2023 he published The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History, which covers five centuries of United States history centering the experiences of Native Americans in the development of modern America.

The views expressed in this course are those of Dr. Ned Blackhawk.