We Are the Land is a comprehensive and accessible overview of California Indian history, centering the lives and legacies of Indigenous people in the creation of California.

This book provides a much-needed corrective to the dominant narratives of Manifest Destiny, the Gold Rush, and settler colonialism, and offers a powerful rejoinder to Richard White and Jesse Amble White's California Exposures.

Through a detailed account of the centrality of Native presence from before European colonization through statehood, We Are the Land contextualizes the first encounters with Europeans, Spanish missions, Mexican secularization, genocide, land reclaim efforts, and activism for sovereignty that built today's casino economy.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in a history that centers the native experience, and will be a valuable resource in classroom settings and beyond.