When We Are Kin: The History and Future of Afro-Indigenous Solidarity

by Kyle T. Mays

Overview

A bold vision for a Black and Indigenous future rooted in real solidarity, a future that exists beyond the confines of the liberal imagination

Current advocates of reparations for slavery and land back often fail to scrutinize racial capitalism and settler colonialism, instead accepting that their destinies will forever be tied to US empire. But as scholar Kyle T. Mays insists in When We Are Kin, we can and should demand a kind of repair that goes beyond a white supremacist idea of what justice can be. 

In a series of short essays, Mays traces the history of alliances between Black and Indigenous movements; outlines the limitations of certain demands for reparations, including cash payments, that do not fundamentally critique racial-settler capitalism; and interrogates contemporary land back initiatives that fail to fully address decolonization. Along the way, he asks, What does solidarity look like between Black and Indigenous peoples in the United States? Can we find ways to co-belong and co-resist on Turtle Island?

Drawing on the Anishinaabe philosophy of mino-bimaadiziwin (the good life), Mays argues that we can resist as kin only when we center the land in building our collective futures. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798888905968
Publisher:	Haymarket Books
Publication date:	05/26/2026
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	5.08(w) x 7.79(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Kyle T. Mays is an Afro-Indigenous (Saginaw Chippewa) writer and scholar. He is a professor of African American studies, American Indian studies, and history at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author or co-author of four books, including Rethinking the Red Power Movement (with Sam Hitchmough), City of Dispossessions: Indigenous Peoples, African Americans, and the Creation of Modern Detroit, An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States, and Hip Hop Beats, Indigenous Rhymes: Modernity and Hip Hop in Indigenous North America.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Black Freedom And Indigenous Sovereignty

Chapter One: Black And Indigenous Movements For Justice: A Brief History

Chapter Two: Reparations And Its Discontents

Chapter Three: Land Back And Indigenous Claims To Urban Territory

Chapter Four: Toward Mino-Bimaadiziwin: Envisioning Black And Indigenous Co-Resistance And Co-Belonging

Editorial Reviews

Praise for An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States:

“Nuanced and illuminating”—Booklist

“This book reveals uncomfortable truths about the dehumanizing legacies of both capitalism and colonialism while forging a path of reconciliation between the Black and Native communities. Mays offers a solid entry point for further study. An enlightening reexamination of American history.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Accessible and informative … Mays’s colloquial voice enlivens the often-distressing history … This immersive revisionist history sheds light on an overlooked aspect of the American past.”  —Publishers Weekly

“Required reading to comprehend the deep historical relationship between the Indigenous peoples who were transported from Africa into chattel slavery and the Indigenous peoples who were displaced by European settler colonialism to profit from the land and resources, two parallel realities in search of self-determination and justice.”—Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

“You will never think of the peoples’ history the same way after reading An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States.”—Robin D. G. Kelley

From the Publisher