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

by Kyle T Mays

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.

Genres: History

184 pages, Paperback

Published May 26, 2026

Reviews

[Lauren Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Devane · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Nic · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[DW · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Ganovelbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.