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Native Americans have been a defining part of the United States’ experience. Their presence helped to shape the American consciousness and character. Jay Wertz opens the Native American background of the United States to the general reader in a unique way. He has done a great service for the reader in making documents of history more accessible. His work enables the reader to hold copies of original documents, and read the words that helped form events.

Historical acts leap off the page, and Jay Wertz successfully places the documents in their historical context. The author surveys the panoramic sweep of U.S. Native American history from prehistory to the present. The variety of textual documentation reflects the complexity of the subject, with pull-out manuscript examples, boxed segments, narrative, photographs, maps, and more. His is an interactive approach on paper. His method takes the reader into the complex interactions that took place after the coming of Europeans to the continent. He includes international diplomacy, trade, settlement, treaty councils, land cessions, and assimilation policies. All of those activities and more resulted in opening the territory of the expanding United States to settlement and resource removal.

Native American history is messy. There were conflicts when cultures clashed. However, beyond Indian warfare, which dominated early literature and motion pictures, were many peaceful pursuits. Commerce, sharing, marriage, missions, and other interactions affected the relations between Native peoples and non-natives. I personally enjoyed viewing the documents within their contexts and believe families will be surprised at the fun and excitement they will experience in sharing their own exploration. Native American history is a rich tapestry and Jay Wertz provides the reader with a doorway into the full enjoyment of all of that richness.