Summary:
Dr. Ned Blackhawk, a National Book Award winner, will present the annual Bullitt Lecture in American History on March 10, discussing the hidden history of 20th century Native American activism. His presentation will draw from his award-winning book, "The Rediscovery of America," which examines the central role Native nations and their citizens have played in shaping the United States. The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. Following the lecture, there will be a book signing with books available for purchase from the Elliott Bay Book Company.
National Book Award winner Dr. Ned Blackhawk will present the annual Bullitt Lecture in American History on Tuesday, March 10, at the Central Library, offering insights into the hidden history of 20th century Native American activism.
The lecture will take place from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. in the Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium at the Central Library. The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required.
Blackhawk’s presentation draws from the final chapters of “The Rediscovery of America,” which won the 2023 National Book Award in Nonfiction. The book examines the central role Native nations and their citizens have played in shaping the United States, arguing that contemporary American society cannot be fully understood without recognizing that history.
In “The Rediscovery of America,” Blackhawk interweaves five centuries of Native and non-Native histories, from Spanish colonial exploration to the rise of Native American self-determination in the late 20th century. The book contends that Native Americans have remained a constant presence in U.S. history, despite narratives that often focus primarily on Europeans and their descendants. During the lecture, Blackhawk will highlight Native American activists whose lives and legacies reshaped American history and will introduce audiences to the vibrant field of Native American studies in modern U.S. history.
The Wall Street Journal called “The Rediscovery of America” “eloquent and comprehensive,” and The Washington Post Book World wrote that Blackhawk shows that “Native communities have, instead, been inseparable from the American story all along.”
In addition to winning the 2023 National Book Award in Nonfiction, the book was a finalist for the 2023 Los Angeles Times Book Award in History, won the 2024 Anisfield Wolf Book Award in Nonfiction and received the 2024 Mark Lynton History Prize.
The event will be followed by a book signing, with books available for purchase from the Elliott Bay Book Company. Sponsors include The Seattle Public Library Foundation, The Seattle Times and The Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation.
Blackhawk is the Howard R. Lamar Professor of History and American Studies at Yale University and serves as faculty coordinator for the Yale Group for the Study of Native America. A graduate of McGill University, Blackhawk earned graduate degrees in history from the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Washington. Blackhawk is the author and co editor of four books on Native American and Indigenous history and is an enrolled member of the Te Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada.