US publisher Beacon Press recently released a graphic adaptation of the American Book Award winning history of the United States as told from the perspective of Indigenous peoples, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States.

Originally published in 2015, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s influential New York Times bestseller exposed the brutality of America’s founding and its legacy of settler-colonialism and genocide. It was adapted into a Young Peoples version by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese in 2019, and in 2021, was one of the three foundational texts for the amazing HBO docuseries Exterminate All the Brutes, written and directed by Raoul Peck. 

Now, former 2000AD artist Paul Peart-Smith and graphic novel editor Paul Buhle have brought this watershed book to life, centring the perspective of the peoples displaced by Europeans and their white descendants to trace Indigenous perseverance over four centuries against policies intended to obliterate them. 

Recognised for his adaptation of W.E.B. DuBois‘ The Souls of Black Folk and his extensive expertise in the comics industry, Peart-Smith collaborated Buhle to provide an accessible introduction to a complex history that will hopefully attract new generations of readers of all ages.

“The idea of making Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s classic New York Times best-seller, already adapted for a Young Readers’ edition, into a graphic novel  or ‘comic’  seems entirely natural,” explains Paul Buhle. “It is the kind of book suited for what is now called ‘All Ages’ readers.

“Paul Peart-Smith, the son of Jamaican immigrants who emigrated to the United Kingdom, is an experienced and much-lauded artist. He has dealt with a wide variety of themes in a graphics career of more than thirty years. He readily accepted my proposal, a few years ago, for adapting W.E.B. Du Bois’s Souls of Black Folk into a ‘graphic novel’ that brings new readers to one of the most important collections of essays ever written on race in the United States.

“The Indigenous Peoples History, in its new format, is not easy to describe in words,” he continues. “It offers a rainbow of colours and designs revealing, more than anything else, the culture, the humanity, and the courage of  Indigenous populations facing a European onslaught. So much is explained, as only pictures can, that the result is  simultaneously overwhelming and enriching.

“This is a book  likely to be banned in the public schools of the Florida Republic of DeSantis, but read widely by Floridians and others, far and wide. I predict it will do a lot of good.”

The adaptation has already earned plenty of praise for making Dunbar-Ortiz’s book accessible to all.

“Much of what Dunbar-Ortiz does in the book is quote relevant figures in the movement, and historians who can re-conceptualise the ‘accepted’ history of America in new terms, but to do so, you’re mostly talking about a bunch of talking heads,” noted Brian Cronin for his review of the new title on CBR.com, “so Peart-Smith has to come up with ways of making all of these talking heads seem relevant, and he does a really nice job of having the panels with the talking heads still feel like something is going ON.”

“In many ways, Peart-Smith approaches this adaptation much like an oral history,” notes Thom Dunn, at Boing Boing. “He often uses literal talking heads to carry the narrative – often Dunbar-Ortiz herself, though also other historians including John Grenier, as well as indigenous writers such as Alejandro Murguia. It’s a simple but helpful way to frame the story, anchoring the broader, descriptive prose with intensely personal perspectives – a means of editorialising while acknowledging the editorial voice, and establishing it as one of authority.”

Paul Peart-Smith is a celebrated comic creator of over 35 years, with experience in concept art, graphic design, and animation. After studying to be an illustrator in Cambridge, his comics work has included strips for 2000AD, including “Judge Dredd” and “Slaughter Bowl”, written by John Smith (collected digitally in 2021), Jackie Chan Adventures, and Horrible Science.

Paul who now lives in Tasmania, Australia, is also the illustrator and adapter of W. E. B. Du Bois Souls of Black Folk: A Graphic Interpretation.

Paul Buhle, retired Senior Lecturer at Brown University, is the authorised biographer of Pan African giant C.L.R. James. He has edited over a dozen nonfiction graphic novels, including Studs Terkel’s Workingand A Peoples’ History of the American Empire (a graphic adaptation of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States). He worked with David Lester and Marcus Rediker to produce Prophet against Slavery: Benjamin Lay, a Graphic Novel (Beacon 2021). Buhle lives in Providence, Rhode Island. 

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz grew up in rural Oklahoma in a tenant farming family. She has been active in the international Indigenous movement for more than four decades and is known for her lifelong commitment to national and international social justice issues. Dunbar-Ortiz is the winner of the 2017 Lannan Cultural Freedom Prize and a recipient of the American Book Award (2015) for An Indigenous History of the United States. The author or editor of numerous books, including Not “A Nation of Immigrants,”she lives in San Francisco.

• Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States: A Graphic Interpretation is available from all good bookshops (uk.bookshop.org Affiliate Link) | ISBN: 978-0807012680 | Buy it from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

Web Links

• Paul Peart-Smith at Linktree | Follow Paul on BlueSky | Buy Prints

• Follow Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz on X @rdunbaro

Further Reading

• A Graphic Novel Tears Apart the Lies That Have Perpetuated in the Indigenous History of America” – Comic Book Resources, review by Brian Cronin

• “Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States” in graphic novel form – a review by Thom Dunn at Boing Boing

Further Listening

• Home of The Creative Nonfiction Podcast Episode 439: Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Paul Peart-Smith Bring a Graphic Interpretation of “An Indigenous People’s History of the United States” to Life

• New Books Network – Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States: A Graphic Interpretation – an interview with Paul Peart-Smith

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John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

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Categories: Books, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Other Worlds, US Comics

Tags: Beacon Press, downthetubes News, Paul Buhle, Paul Peart-Smith, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz