Andrew Lipman is a historian of early modern North America and the British Atlantic, whose work explores how Native peoples participated in the creation of a connected oceanic world, with a focus on the American Northeast. He is currently a Professor of History at Barnard College, Columbia University. 

His research has a layered approach, drawing on insights from archaeologists, ecologists, ethnographers, linguists, literary critics, and museum professionals to add depth to his interpretations. His research has transformed our understanding of the American Northeast by exploring how coastal Native peoples’ maritime expertise was key to their survival following the invasion of their homelands. Another major theme in his scholarship is the imaginative reconstruction of stories from scant and scattered sources.

His first book, The Saltwater Frontier: Indians and the Contest for the American Coast (Yale, 2015), tells the story of how the ocean became a “frontier” between colonists and Native peoples when the English and Dutch empires both tried to claim the same patch of shoreline. Along with highlighting the role of Native seafarers in this contest for the coast, it argues that the Puritans’ project in New England was shaped by the geopolitics of their Native neighbors and Dutch competitors. The book was the winner of the 2016 Bancroft Prize in American History. 

Lipman’s second book, Squanto: A Native Odyssey (Yale, 2024), is the first book-length study of “Squanto” or Tisquantum, a Native interpreter who aided early settlers and whose actions are part of the popular mythology behind the American Thanksgiving holiday. The book won four prizes, including the 2025 PROSE Award for Biography from the Association of American Publishers. 

Lipman’s research has been supported by year-long fellowships at The Huntington Library and the New-York Historical Society.