RICHMOND, VIRGINIA – The Library of Virginia will present a free virtual talk by Pulitzer Prize–winning author and historian Kathleen DuVal on her latest book, “Native Nations: A Millennium in North America,” on Wednesday, Nov. 5 at noon. Registration is required at https://lva-virginia.libcal.com/event/15190794.

DuVal is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she specializes in American and Native American history. “Native Nations” is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the Bancroft Prize, the Cundill History Prize and the Mark Lynton History Prize. Duval’s previous work includes “Independence Lost,” which was a finalist for the George Washington Prize, and “The Native Ground: Indians and Colonists in the Heart of the Continent.” 

In “Native Nations,” DuVal recounts how Indigenous Americans built diverse civilizations long before the colonization of North America and adapted to a changing world in ways that reverberated globally. Europeans arriving in the 16th century encountered societies they did not understand — and whose power they often underestimated.


In the centuries afterward, Indigenous people maintained an upper hand and used Europeans in pursuit of their own interests: Mohawks closely controlled trade, Quapaws manipulated colonists, and Kiowas regulated the passage of settlers across their territory. Even as control of the continent shifted toward the United States through the 19th century, “Native Nations” demonstrates that the sovereignty and influence of Native people remained a constant that will continue far into the future.

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