Madley is an historian of Native America, the United States, and colonialism in world history. Born in Redding, California,
Ben spent much of his childhood in Karuk Country near the Oregon border where he became interested in the relationship between colonizers and indigenous peoples. He writes about American Indians as well as colonial genocides in Africa, Australia, and Europe, often applying a transnational and comparative approach. His book, “An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873,” is a finalist for the 2016 L.A. Times Book Prize in History.