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When We Are Kin: The History and Future of Afro-Indigenous Solidarity
Offering a bold critique of the limitations of the reparations and land back movements,
When We Are Kin
envisions 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 be forever 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 displace Black residents. 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.
Current advocates of reparations for slavery and land back often fail to scrutinize racial capitalism and settler colonialism, instead accepting that their destinies will be forever 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 displace Black residents. 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.
184 pages, Paperback
Published May 26, 2026
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June 21, 2026
Author maintains a politics and vision of solidarity without hiding more difficult history and/or current terrain as he proposes (implicitly at least) a move to transcend nationalism as a liberatory framework.
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11 Since writing this book and giving numerous talks around the world, one question I often get asked is a version of this, often with skepticism: When, in history, did Black and Indigenous people collaborate to resist oppression? I tell them of a few examples, but there aren't as many as people think. Why is that? First, no two oppressed groups are natural allies.
20 Similarly, in his book Behind the Trail of Broken Treaties (1974), Deloria opined, "Minority groups were often astounded to learn that the Indians were not planning to share the continent with their oppressed brothers once the revolution was over. Hell, no. The Indians were planning on taking the continent back and kicking out all the black, Chicano, Anglo, and Asian brothers who had made the whole thing possible." This quotes makes me wonder what Deloria thought of kinship. For example, what would Deloria have thought of my great-grandmother, who had Afro-Indigenous children and raised them in the predominantly African American city of Detroit?
37 Indeed, a full understanding of Reconstruction requires discussions of citizenship and belonging and land for both Indigenous and Black folks.
38 What does it mean for Black people to receive freedom and be forced to enter into a settler democracy?
41 We can hold these two truths simultaneously: the United States had no right to exploit Black people on Indigenous land, and it had no right to give Black people land usurped from Indigenous peoples.
42 [...] we should continue to push back against the notion of giving away Indigenous land, even as Black people have created a sense of belonging and memory on the land.
45 What is the relationship between Black freedom, the expansion of democracy, and the further dispossession of Indigenous peoples?
46 1865 [...] Then, later that summer, President Andrew Johnson reversed Sherman's field order, as quickly as it came. He ordered that all the confiscated land should be returned to the plantation owners.
50 Indeed, we, as Black folks, should ask better for ourselves. We don't need land that was illegally taken or coerced from Indigenous nations. We have to look at this history, learn from it, and find other ways to connect with Indigenous peoples on the land that are not tied to capitalism.
62 A writer will note the original dispossession and then move on as if it isn't relevant to the larger part of the story, as if Indigenous peoples no longer matter.
63 Land theft is wrong -- but Black people should not desire entry into the geopolitics of American settler colonialism, no matter how enticing it can be.
65 The goal should not be to pass on generational wealth; we should imagine and think beyond wealth, Let me say that again for the (Black) people in the back: The transfer of wealth and the desire to hoard wealth is not an admirable desire.
71 [...] Black Wall Street was no exception. Wealth, even Black wealth, is always in the hands of the few and based on exploitation. This is the moral line we should never cross. So, if everyone isn't eating equally, why would we aspire to that?
74 After all, the white middle class was developed through government intervention, a moment in history when affirmative action was white.
87 Indigenous peoples have tried to reimagine geographic boundaries to halt European and American encroachment on their land in a collective, pan-Indigenous fashion.
89 If you don't remember anything else I wrote in this book, at least remember that most Indigenous peoples live in cities.
103 In fact, modern notions of tribal sovereignty are often neoliberalism with an Indigenous face.
107 When the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) decided to take a position in support of Palestine and critical of Israel, they lost all sorts of financial support from liberal Jewish organizations that had supported them financially and morally, thus sealing the fate of the organization. Even Martin Luther King Jr. worried about his comments that were critical of Israel. In other words, what happens when you no longer appeal to the sentiments of liberal whites.
108 Shouldn't sovereignty mean the reclaiming of land, the revitalizing of culture, and the dismantling of capitalism?
115 In our move to dismantle settler capitalism, this is the specific kind of work we should engage in: collective land stewardship and rethinking our relationship to capitalism.
116 As Frantz Fanon asked, "What is the relationship between the struggle, the political or armed conflict, and culture?"
117 I know, the next question gonna be, "So, I'm white, my family has been here, where should I go?" Honestly, the tribes should not care. While I believe tribal nations will do what they have always tried to do -- and that is to live in harmony with white people as long as they not trippin -- the feelings and "losses" of white people, especially the wealthy elites, should not be a concern. If land returns are a form of reparations, then returning that land should be on the table.
124 After all, we need the wisdom of our ancestors and the hubris of our youth; they complement one another well.
132 [...] I don't see them as nations with the ability to decolonize and be self-determined outside of US empire. Nor should they desire to do so. Tribal nations, as currently constituted, are not going to get land back in large quantities. Maybe should get rid of the "nation" talk.
136 We have a lot of work to do to connect and reconnect. We need a revolutionary enthusiasm that is meant to build community based on love and a desire for freedom.
138 How can we connect people and make them kin? [...] Naming ceremonies [...] youth into adulthood [....] Ceremonies require thinking about one's responsibility to and role within one's community.
140 In Olufemi Taiwo's book Reconsidering Reparations (2022), he remarks, "We should think about our ancestors. But we will win and lose our own ethical battles based on what we do for our descendants. We are defined by what kinds of ancestors we choose to be." In other words, it is our duty to become good ancestors.
142 Implement leisure activities for kinship building.
------
11 Since writing this book and giving numerous talks around the world, one question I often get asked is a version of this, often with skepticism: When, in history, did Black and Indigenous people collaborate to resist oppression? I tell them of a few examples, but there aren't as many as people think. Why is that? First, no two oppressed groups are natural allies.
20 Similarly, in his book Behind the Trail of Broken Treaties (1974), Deloria opined, "Minority groups were often astounded to learn that the Indians were not planning to share the continent with their oppressed brothers once the revolution was over. Hell, no. The Indians were planning on taking the continent back and kicking out all the black, Chicano, Anglo, and Asian brothers who had made the whole thing possible." This quotes makes me wonder what Deloria thought of kinship. For example, what would Deloria have thought of my great-grandmother, who had Afro-Indigenous children and raised them in the predominantly African American city of Detroit?
37 Indeed, a full understanding of Reconstruction requires discussions of citizenship and belonging and land for both Indigenous and Black folks.
38 What does it mean for Black people to receive freedom and be forced to enter into a settler democracy?
41 We can hold these two truths simultaneously: the United States had no right to exploit Black people on Indigenous land, and it had no right to give Black people land usurped from Indigenous peoples.
42 [...] we should continue to push back against the notion of giving away Indigenous land, even as Black people have created a sense of belonging and memory on the land.
45 What is the relationship between Black freedom, the expansion of democracy, and the further dispossession of Indigenous peoples?
46 1865 [...] Then, later that summer, President Andrew Johnson reversed Sherman's field order, as quickly as it came. He ordered that all the confiscated land should be returned to the plantation owners.
50 Indeed, we, as Black folks, should ask better for ourselves. We don't need land that was illegally taken or coerced from Indigenous nations. We have to look at this history, learn from it, and find other ways to connect with Indigenous peoples on the land that are not tied to capitalism.
62 A writer will note the original dispossession and then move on as if it isn't relevant to the larger part of the story, as if Indigenous peoples no longer matter.
63 Land theft is wrong -- but Black people should not desire entry into the geopolitics of American settler colonialism, no matter how enticing it can be.
65 The goal should not be to pass on generational wealth; we should imagine and think beyond wealth, Let me say that again for the (Black) people in the back: The transfer of wealth and the desire to hoard wealth is not an admirable desire.
71 [...] Black Wall Street was no exception. Wealth, even Black wealth, is always in the hands of the few and based on exploitation. This is the moral line we should never cross. So, if everyone isn't eating equally, why would we aspire to that?
74 After all, the white middle class was developed through government intervention, a moment in history when affirmative action was white.
87 Indigenous peoples have tried to reimagine geographic boundaries to halt European and American encroachment on their land in a collective, pan-Indigenous fashion.
89 If you don't remember anything else I wrote in this book, at least remember that most Indigenous peoples live in cities.
103 In fact, modern notions of tribal sovereignty are often neoliberalism with an Indigenous face.
107 When the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) decided to take a position in support of Palestine and critical of Israel, they lost all sorts of financial support from liberal Jewish organizations that had supported them financially and morally, thus sealing the fate of the organization. Even Martin Luther King Jr. worried about his comments that were critical of Israel. In other words, what happens when you no longer appeal to the sentiments of liberal whites.
108 Shouldn't sovereignty mean the reclaiming of land, the revitalizing of culture, and the dismantling of capitalism?
115 In our move to dismantle settler capitalism, this is the specific kind of work we should engage in: collective land stewardship and rethinking our relationship to capitalism.
116 As Frantz Fanon asked, "What is the relationship between the struggle, the political or armed conflict, and culture?"
117 I know, the next question gonna be, "So, I'm white, my family has been here, where should I go?" Honestly, the tribes should not care. While I believe tribal nations will do what they have always tried to do -- and that is to live in harmony with white people as long as they not trippin -- the feelings and "losses" of white people, especially the wealthy elites, should not be a concern. If land returns are a form of reparations, then returning that land should be on the table.
124 After all, we need the wisdom of our ancestors and the hubris of our youth; they complement one another well.
132 [...] I don't see them as nations with the ability to decolonize and be self-determined outside of US empire. Nor should they desire to do so. Tribal nations, as currently constituted, are not going to get land back in large quantities. Maybe should get rid of the "nation" talk.
136 We have a lot of work to do to connect and reconnect. We need a revolutionary enthusiasm that is meant to build community based on love and a desire for freedom.
138 How can we connect people and make them kin? [...] Naming ceremonies [...] youth into adulthood [....] Ceremonies require thinking about one's responsibility to and role within one's community.
140 In Olufemi Taiwo's book Reconsidering Reparations (2022), he remarks, "We should think about our ancestors. But we will win and lose our own ethical battles based on what we do for our descendants. We are defined by what kinds of ancestors we choose to be." In other words, it is our duty to become good ancestors.
142 Implement leisure activities for kinship building.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book is very well written. It is not a book for those seeking academic discourse in a traditional sense. This book is widely accessible and readable for many people.
The author's writing style reflects the way she speaks. I love this. This makes the book much more accessible to non academic readers, I often find that when I recommend books to non academics about politics the books are very heavy and difficult to digest to your average reader. While reading academic texts on Afro-Indigenous politics, I have found that many authors tend to be overly pedantic, often pontificating for several chapters without trying to be accessible to their community. This is a huge problem. HUGE.
This is a long-standing problem with books about geopolitical topics, racial theories, and even in some cases, history. This book doesn't have this problem. The book is well cited, and it is clear the author is well-read in African American politics as well as Indigenous politics.
As someone well-versed in African American studies, I found the information on Indigenous peoples to be extremely helpful. The author discusses failed policies and treaties of the American government very well. The author also points out each time the American government has not upheld promises given to both groups of people.
The author makes it clear that the only path forward for Indigenous people and African Americans is a path together. The path should not seek to validate or join in to capitalism. Instead, something new must be created that involves both peoples while acknowledging our tied oppression and history.
This book is a good starting point for people who are not familiar with Land Back or reparations within Indigenous and Black communities. I found the author's take on forty acres and a mule to be very interesting. Perhaps this is something that can be further discussed with FBA and Indigenous folks. While reparations and Land Back are needed, we cannot have one without the other, and one group cannot ignore the needs of the other.
The author has several valid critiques of both communities and offers solutions to long-term and complicated problems with both communities under the structure of white supremacy and capitalism. I would recommend this book to anyone that has recently (has always) questioned the imperialism of the United States, capitalism, or zionism.
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June 26, 2026Holy HELL! This was AMAZING!!
I read a lot of radical leftist books, like A TON, and it's probably my favorite genre to read. Sometimes I feel like they end the same way -- with some uplifting message about how everything will get better if we just listen to more BIPOC people and form community -- and it always leaves me feeling...unsatisfied. Because there are multiple genocides, horrific levels of wealth inequality, destruction of the planet....
this book MADE ME THINK. it didn't just say "listen to *insert marginalized population here* and everything they say." It is true that we need to recenter BIPOC/queer voices, etc, BUT the author (CORRECTLY) provides a brilliant critique of how even those of us who are historically marganizled are seeking restitution in a "capitalistic manner." He argues that in order to actually get proper restitution and a better world for all, we need to dismantle settler colonialism and imperialism. I like the example of Africa Town and a few of the Indig. societies he gives, in which he describes how it is important that we can't seek reparations/restitution/etc in the same manner as settler colonials (while maintaining wealth inequity etc).
so yeah, it really makes you think! Ive been working on decolonizing my mind for 2+ years and I know it's going to be a lifelong process, and this book is 100% so helpful.
Honestly this is such a wonderful and refreshing read. Absolutely brilliant.
I read a lot of radical leftist books, like A TON, and it's probably my favorite genre to read. Sometimes I feel like they end the same way -- with some uplifting message about how everything will get better if we just listen to more BIPOC people and form community -- and it always leaves me feeling...unsatisfied. Because there are multiple genocides, horrific levels of wealth inequality, destruction of the planet....
this book MADE ME THINK. it didn't just say "listen to *insert marginalized population here* and everything they say." It is true that we need to recenter BIPOC/queer voices, etc, BUT the author (CORRECTLY) provides a brilliant critique of how even those of us who are historically marganizled are seeking restitution in a "capitalistic manner." He argues that in order to actually get proper restitution and a better world for all, we need to dismantle settler colonialism and imperialism. I like the example of Africa Town and a few of the Indig. societies he gives, in which he describes how it is important that we can't seek reparations/restitution/etc in the same manner as settler colonials (while maintaining wealth inequity etc).
so yeah, it really makes you think! Ive been working on decolonizing my mind for 2+ years and I know it's going to be a lifelong process, and this book is 100% so helpful.
Honestly this is such a wonderful and refreshing read. Absolutely brilliant.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
When We Are Kin packs a lot into a relatively short pagecount – analyses of historical relationships between Black and Indigenous movements, of reparations models, of discourses of decolonization, and more. Mays identifies his perspective as “a socialist and a Marxist intellectual” focused on “dismantling racial capitalism, settler colonialism, white supremacy, patriarchy, which would free all people.” The author concludes with a few list-style sets of arguments – a more detailed “Eight Practices for Afro-Indigenous Futures” which articulates some starting points for ongoing discussion and debate and a shorter “Point-by-Point Manifesto for Black and Indigenous Reparatory Justice.”
I learned a lot, & have a lot of reading to follow up on from the Notes section (as well as wanting to check out the author’s other work, which I have yet to read). I would recommend this book to anyone meaningfully interested in social justice struggles past and present, solidarity and alliance building, and visioning towards liberation.
Thank you so much to Haymarket Books, the author, & NetGalley for providing me an ARC to review.
I learned a lot, & have a lot of reading to follow up on from the Notes section (as well as wanting to check out the author’s other work, which I have yet to read). I would recommend this book to anyone meaningfully interested in social justice struggles past and present, solidarity and alliance building, and visioning towards liberation.
Thank you so much to Haymarket Books, the author, & NetGalley for providing me an ARC to review.
June 1, 2026
Thank you to Kyle T. Mays, NetGalley and Haymarket Books for the ARC of When We Are Kin in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this very educational read. It was particularly timely in our violent times where a lack of solidarity between peoples has had deadly results. Mays wrote this book to be approachable through its simple and conversational writing style. This is in line with the mission of this book. That is the surfacing of the revolutionary potential of a kinship between Black and Indigenous communities in fighting racial-settler capitalism. This kinship would allow for a synergy in understanding histories of oppressions, that give birth to systems of oppressions that calcify in the face of attempted change. This relationship of collaboration would result in better ways of imagining and executing solutions that would move liberatory movements towards longer-lasting success.
Although this book is set in the context and history of the United States of America, I as a Canadian reader still found it to be worth it. I am now curious about relations between Indigenous peoples and the Black communities in the Canadian context.
I enjoyed this very educational read. It was particularly timely in our violent times where a lack of solidarity between peoples has had deadly results. Mays wrote this book to be approachable through its simple and conversational writing style. This is in line with the mission of this book. That is the surfacing of the revolutionary potential of a kinship between Black and Indigenous communities in fighting racial-settler capitalism. This kinship would allow for a synergy in understanding histories of oppressions, that give birth to systems of oppressions that calcify in the face of attempted change. This relationship of collaboration would result in better ways of imagining and executing solutions that would move liberatory movements towards longer-lasting success.
Although this book is set in the context and history of the United States of America, I as a Canadian reader still found it to be worth it. I am now curious about relations between Indigenous peoples and the Black communities in the Canadian context.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I'm not a big nonfiction reader but this pulled me in! I found Kyle T. Mays' authentic conversational style engaging, refreshing and accessible, as was his intention as stated at the beginning of the book. These essays are packed with truths and analyses, unpacking the complex, harrowing consequences of settler colonialism, racism and capitalism through an Afro-Indigenous lens. Needless to say, as a German native, I learnt A LOT. Not only new language--again, in a very accessible way--but Kyle T. Mays dives deep into the complications around and his vision for Afro-Indigenous Solidarity, which proved an important, eye-opening counter narrative for what little I'd been taught about these matters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Haymarket Books for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Thank you to NetGalley and Haymarket Books for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I first came across Mays’ work while doing my Master’s thesis. His Afro-Indigenous History of the United States, was very informative to my work. When We are Kin goes beyond the history and into imagining the futures of Black and Indigenous solidarity. The complexity of the balancing act performed in the work is not lost on me; he respectfully critiques Black movements that have elided Indigenous peoples, and does the same when Indigenous movements have done the same. He also holds up shining examples of solidarity in both regards. He says many things that I unequivocally support; for example, his critique of tribal sovereignty is spot on in my view. Ultimately, his work is vital and I hope it catches on and we see more advocacy and collaboration in the ways expressed in the book.
June 14, 2026
Essential reading for these comes.
Overflowing with necessary truths and historic corrections, the book invites us to co-create new possibilities.
The book is written with the kind of ease and familiarity that comes from sitting with a cousin at an intergenerational family hang.
If anyone is bereft or seeking ideas on what we can be doing to seed solidarity, spend some time with the conclusion.
Overflowing with necessary truths and historic corrections, the book invites us to co-create new possibilities.
The book is written with the kind of ease and familiarity that comes from sitting with a cousin at an intergenerational family hang.
If anyone is bereft or seeking ideas on what we can be doing to seed solidarity, spend some time with the conclusion.
May 31, 2026
Such an approachable book that didn’t lose any educational value in its ability to be understood by those (me) who don’t speak the language of high theorist. Especially appreciated that Mays didn’t just articulate what we should be fighting against, but what we should be fighting for.
August 23, 2026
Shout out Tubi movies!!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews