The Founders of America

"We have lived upon this land from days beyond history's records." These are the words of a Pueblo man, words that describe the experience of Native Americans. They underlie the long work and philosophy of Francis Jennings—the scholar who has done the most to change our view of the relationship of Native Americans and the European settlers.

Jennings describes the experience of the first pioneers of the North American continent, who migrated from Siberia across what is now Beringia—nomadic people who traveled over the continents and islands of the Americas, establishing networks of trails and trade and adapting the land to human purposes. He tells of the rise of imperial city states in Mexico and Peru, and of the extension of cultures from Mexico into North America; he describes the multitude of cultures and societies created by the Native Americans, from simple kin-structured bands to immense and complex cities. Jennings shows that Europeans did not "discover" America; they invaded it and conquered its population. We grew up on history written from the point of view of the victor. Here now is the rest of the story, by the acknowledged dean of American Indian history. It is strong, eye-opening, and timely.

1994 / ISBN 0-393-31232-1 / Photographs, maps / 464 pages / HISTORY

• "[An] absorbing, insightful book." —Library Journal
• Francis Jennings is director emeritus of the Newberry Library Center for the History of the American Indian in Chicago and currently senior research fellow there. His other books in Norton paperback include The Invasion of America.