Dr. Ned Blackhawk to Present the Bullitt Lecture on American History at the Central Library on Tuesday, March 10
release date: February 12, 2026
Dr. Ned Blackhawk will present the annual Bullitt Lecture in American History on Tuesday, March 10, from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Drawn from the last chapters of his book, “The Rediscovery of America,” which won the 2023 National Book Award in Nonfiction, his talk will offer insights into Native American activists whose lives and legacies helped to reshape American history.
The Bullitt lecture will take place at the Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. It is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. Find out more and register here.
In "The Rediscovery of America," Blackhawk argues that we cannot fully understand the making of contemporary American society without a focus upon Native nations and their citizens. He interweaves five centuries of Native and non‑Native histories, from Spanish colonial exploration to the rise of Native American self-determination in the late 20th century, revealing that the most enduring feature of U.S. history is the presence of Native Americans, yet most histories focus on Europeans and their descendants. In his presentation, he offers entryways into the now vibrant study of Native Americans in modern U.S. history.
The Wall Street Journal called “The Rediscovery of America” “eloquent and comprehensive,” and the Washington Post Book World writes that Blackhawk shows that “Native communities have, instead, been inseparable from the American story all along.”
In addition to being awarded the 2023 National Book Award for Nonfiction, “The Rediscovery of America” was a finalist for the 2023 Los Angeles Times Book Award in History; winner of 2024 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in Nonfiction; and winner of the 2024 Mark Lynton History Prize.
The event will be followed by a book-signing, with books available from the Elliott Bay Book Company. Thanks to our sponsors The Seattle Public Library Foundation, The Seattle Times and The Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation.
About Ned Blackhawk
Dr. Ned Blackhawk is the Howard R. Lamar Professor of History and American Studies at Yale University, where he serves as the faculty coordinator for the Yale Group for the Study of Native America. A graduate of McGill University, he holds graduate degrees in history from the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Washington. He is the author and co-editor of four books on Native American and Indigenous history. He is an enrolled member of the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada.
About the Bullitt Lecture in American History
The Bullitt Lecture is made possible by a gift from the late Priscilla Bullitt Collins in memory of her father, A. Scott Bullitt. Presented annually since 2001, it has featured presidential historians, popular historians, public intellectuals and professors of American history, including: George Packer, Timothy Egan, Taylor Branch, Gail Collins, Joseph Ellis, Isabel Wilkerson, and Michael Eric Dyson. It has highlighted a significant period, event, or individual in American history. It is supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Wallace Foundation.
About The Seattle Public Library
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