07 May 2025
We are delighted that Native Nations: A Millennium in North America by Kathleen DuVal has won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for History. A magisterial history of a millennium in North America, putting indigenous Americans back at the heart of the story. Described by the judges as ‘a panoramic portrait of Native American nations and communities over a thousand years, a vivid and accessible account of their endurance, ingenuity and achievement in the face of conflict and dispossession’.
Discover the other 2025 Pulitzer winners here.
Read more about Native Nations below:
WINNER OF THE 2025 PULITZER PRIZE FOR HISTORY
WINNER OF THE 2024 CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE
WINNER OF THE BANCROFT PRIZE 2025
WINNER OF THE MARK LYNTON HISTORY PRIZE 2025
For centuries, Europeans assumed that indigenous Americans lacked the sophistication to build cities and establish hierarchies. For over a millennium, prior to and after the arrival of white colonialists, however, native nations had been adapting to changing climates, founding and abandoning urban centres and forging complex, democratic societies.
In this magisterial new history of North America, Kathleen DuVal puts indigenous people back at the heart of the story. From the splendour of ancient cities like Cahokia and Moundsville to the careful diplomacy of native leaders in the face of colonial expansion, Native Nations reveals the diversity of indigenous civilisation and shows how a 1,000-year legacy still shapes America today, in struggles over sovereignty, climate and indigenous rights.
