An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States

Citing military historian John Grenier’s The First Way of War, Dunbar-Ortiz discusses how early settlers in British colonies in North America waged wars against Indigenous communities and created the foundation for later strategies used in present day U.S warfare. Remnants of this period are still reflected in military culture and practices, such as the use of code names for enemies based on Indigenous historical figures. We have seen “Geronimo” used for Osama Bin Laden or the term “Indian Country” used by the military to refer to enemy territory. Grenier describes the type of warfare originally used by colonial militias in Virginia and Massachusetts against Indigenous people as “unlimited” (57), including attacking civilians and food supplies. This “way of war” that eventually became a foundational part of the U.S. military and its traditions developed between 1607 and 1814, starting with Anglo settlers outside of any formal military. These settlers would group together and conduct “irregular warfare” by attacking civilians and burning towns with the goal of annihilation with “unrelenting attacks” on Indigenous towns and communities, including women, children, and the elderly (58). Even as the nascent U.S. military formed during the war for independence against Britain,