Join us as we talk with filmmaker, Kimberly Hogberg about her film, The Story of Us: The Women who Shaped Montana. This short film was a collaboration with The Extreme History Project, so we are so excited to talk about the film and its debut on Montana PBS! We discuss the film and what goes into creating a historical documentary including the fundraising, the filming, the editing, and the post-production processes. A big thank you to the the organizations that funded this film including The Greater Montana Foundation, the Montana History Foundation, Humanities Montana and the Montana Film Office.

Join us for a conversation with Francesca Pine-Rodriguez, the Director of the nonprofit, Mountain Time Arts (MTA) that is based in Bozeman, MT. We discuss a program led by MTA, Yellowstone Revealed, a series of place-based projects led by a group of inter-tribal Indigenous artists and scholars that happened in Yellowstone National Park during the summer of 2022. We also discuss Indigenous Peoples’ Day and the importance of this holiday, because everyone is indigenous to somewhere! For more information on Mountain Time Arts, visit their website at www.mountaintimearts.org.

Join Nancy and Crystal as they discuss the mythology and true archaeology surrounding the Runestones in the Americas and archaeological evidence of early Norse Settlements before Columbus. We use the series America Unearthed on the History Channel as an example of how to spot entertainment versus scientific evidence that supports archaeological or historical theories. 

Join us as we talk with Kate Moore, a New York Times Bestselling Author about her new book, The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear. This is a narrative non-fiction page-turner about Elizabeth Packard who was a housewife and mother of six in 1860, when her husband of 21 years has her committed to an insane asylum solely because she has differing religious beliefs. It’s a fascinating story of one woman’s battle to change the system and laws concerning coverture, the treatment of those with mental illness, and women’s rights. Author Kate Moore is a natural storyteller and we loved talking with her about this book, but also the history of women’s rights in America from the 1860s to present.

Mark Johnson recently published, The Middle Kingdom Under the Big Sky: A History of the Chinese Experience in Montana. We discuss the book, including experiences of Chinese women in Montana. We also talk about Mark’s new project in collaboration with the Mai Wah Museum, to translate Chinese headstones in cemeteries located in Helena, Bozeman, Billings, and Butte. The translations will identify the individuals commemorated, and hopefully give us more information about their lives in Montana but also in China. For more information on Mark’s book and upcoming project visit his website at bigskychinese.com.

Archaeologist, Bisserka Gaydarska, discusses Ukranian Mega Sites with us this week. The Trypillia megasites of Ukraine are the largest known settlements in 4th millennium BC Europe and possibly the world. With the largest reaching 1.2 square miles in size, megasites raise questions about their origins and purpose. Current theories assume maximum occupation, with all houses occupied at the same time, and a military focus. But recent research suggests alternative views of megasites, suggesting smaller long-term occupations or seasonal assembly places, creating a sustainable settlement rather than military encampment. Listen to our fascinating discussion with Bisserka as we discuss new ideas and research diving into the understanding of these urban centers. Bisserka Gaydarska is an Honorary Research Fellow at Durham University in Durham, England.

To Learn More:
Early Urbanism in Europe
Article on Megasites

Betsy Gaines Quammen discusses her book, American Zion: Cliven Bundy, God & Public Lands in the West. Our discussion explores how the Bundy family mix spiritualism, patriotism, and wild places to assert possession over western federal lands. We discuss the myth of the cowboy, militia conceptions of public land in the west, wilderness, and Mormon history. Dr. Betsy Gaines Quammen holds a doctorate in Environmental History from Montana State University, her dissertation focusing on Mormon settlement and public land conflicts. She has studied various religious traditions over the years, with particular attention to how cultures view landscape and wildlife. Join us for this fascinating conversation.

Join Nancy and Crystal as we talk with author and geneticist, Jennifer Raff on her new book, ORIGIN: A Genetic History of the Americas. We discuss the genetic history of the first peoples in the Americas, who they were, current theories on how they arrived, and why they made the crossing. We delve into how they dispersed south, and how they lived based on a new and powerful kind of evidence: their complete genomes. We also discuss the myths surrounding the peopling of the Americas, specifically the myth of the Moundbuilders and how myths persist today in fringe theories about the origins of Indigenous people. Jennifer explains how genetics is currently being used to construct narratives that profoundly impact Indigenous peoples of the Americas and how genetics has become entangled with identity in the way that society addresses the question “Who is indigenous?” Join us for this riveting discussion with settler scientist Jennifer Raff!

Echo-Hawk, Roger (2011) “Summer Solstice,” The Mythic Circle: Vol. 2011 : Iss. 33 , Article 14.
Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mcircle/vol2011/iss33/14

Join us as we talk with Dr. Laura Arata about her book, Race and the Wild West: Sarah Bickford, The Montana Vigilantes, and the Tourism of Decline, 1870-1930. We discuss the life of Sarah Bickford, a black woman who grew up enslaved in Tennessee and then traveled to Montana Territory after she was emancipated. Sarah settled in the gold rush town of Virginia City where she lived out the rest of her life. She married twice, both times to white men. When her second husband died, she inherited his shares of the Virginia City Water Company and eventually acquired sole ownership, which she ran until her death in 1931. In addition to Sarah, we discuss Mattie Castner and Mary Fields, two black women who grew up enslaved but moved to Montana in the late 19th century and made lives for themselves in Montana.

Join Nancy and Crystal as they discuss the new series, 1883. This is a prequal to the popular, Yellowstone series that premiered in 2018. Yellowstone is an American drama created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson that follows the fictional Dutton family, owners of the largest cattle ranch in Montana. The prequel, 1883, follows the origins of the Dutton family on a journey from Texas to Montana is another Taylor Sheridan creation. Nancy and Crystal share their insights surrounding the historical context of the show. Join us as we take a deep dive into the first five episodes of 1883!

Who owns the past and the objects that connect us to history? We discuss this and so much more with Chip Colwell as we talk about his book, Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America’s Culture. Our conversation revolves around NAPRA, repatriation of human remains, and ultimately human dignity and the importance of relationships. Chip Colwell is the founding Editor-in-Chief of SAPIENS, an online magazine about anthropological thinking and serves as co-host of the SAPIENS podcast. He served as the Senior Curator of Anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for 12 years and has published many academic articles, book chapters, and 12 books. Join us for this fascinating conversation, and a peek into the world of museums and repatriation.

Join us for this timely conversation with Doug MacDonald on his book, Before Yellowstone: Native American Archaeology in the Park. As Yellowstone National Park celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2022, we discuss the deep history of people living in this region. The archaeological research done by Doug and his team of students from the University of Montana shows that the wild landscape has a long history of human presence. In fact, Indigenous people have hunted bison and bighorn sheep, fished for cutthroat trout, and gathered bitterroot and camas bulbs here for at least 11,000 years, and twenty-six tribes claim cultural association with Yellowstone today. We talk with Doug about the significance of archaeological areas such as Obsidian Cliff, where hunters obtained volcanic rock to make tools, and Yellowstone Lake, a traditional place for gathering edible plants. We also discuss the complicated history of Yellowstone and the controversial preservation of the wilderness idea. We debunk the myth that Yellowstone National Park was a wilderness untouched by humans. Join us for this important discussion!

To Learn More:

Before Yellowstone: Native American Archaeology in the Park by Doug MacDonald

The Lost History of Yellowstone: Debunking the myth that the great national park was a wilderness untouched by humans

Join us as we recap our year of podcast episodes. We discuss what we’ve learned from our amazing guests, and some highlights from our second season of podcasting. We dive into the why we think this podcast is important and our take-aways from the year. Join us for this final conversation of 2021!

Join us as we talk with Chris Tomlinson about his new book, Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth, co-written with Bryan Burrough and Jason Stanford. Every nation needs its creation myth, and since Texas was a nation before it was a state, it’s no surprise that its myths bite deep. There’s no piece of history more important to Texans than the Battle of the Alamo, when Davy Crockett and a band of rebels went down in a blaze of glory fighting for independence from Mexico, losing the battle but setting Texas up to win the war. However, that version of events, as Forget the Alamo definitively shows, owes more to fantasy than reality. Just as the site of the Alamo was left in ruins for decades, its story was forgotten and twisted over time, with the contributions of Tejanos–Texans of Mexican origin, who fought alongside the Anglo rebels–scrubbed from the record, and the origin of the conflict over Mexico’s push to abolish slavery papered over. In our conversation, Chris explains the true story of the battle and walks us through the creation of the Alamo myth in the Jim Crow South of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. As uncomfortable as it may be to hear for some, celebrating the Alamo has long had an echo of celebrating whiteness. Join us for this riveting and important conversation.

Join us as we talk with archaeologist, Jack Fisher about his career as an archaeologist. We discuss his archaeological research among the Efe people in the Ituri Forest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, his work at First People’s Buffalo Jump in Montana, his research partnership with John Parkington of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Capetown in South Africa, and his work on an antelope kill site called Lost Terrace. For further reading, be sure to read Jack’s chapter in Pisskan: Interpreting First Peoples Bison Kills at Heritage Parks. His chapter, co-written with Tom Roll, is entitled “First Peoples Buffalo Jump Archaeology: Research Results and Public Interpretation.” Dr. Jack Fisher taught anthropology at Montana State University (Bozeman) for 30 years and now serves as an Emeritus Associate professor at Montana State University. During his career, his archaeological research focused on the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains of Montana. He also did archaeological research in the Western Cape of South Africa in collaboration with archaeologists at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. At the beginning of his career, he did ethnoarchaeological research for one year among Efe people, part-time hunter-gatherers, in the Ituri Forest, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Join us for a conversation with Dr. Lilly White on her work as a forensic anthropologist. We talk about how she became interested in the field, the cultural and historical traditions around death and dying, Lilly’s work during the pandemic as a condolence specialist, and what her work as a forensic anthropologist entails. Lilly received her PhD in Anthropology in 2019 from the University of Montana and currently owns Bone & Stone Anthrosciences with her husband, Stocky White. Follow Bone and Stone on Instagram @deathphd.

Join us as we talk with historian Ellen Baumler about her new book, The Life of the Afterlife in the Big Sky State: A History of Montana’s Cemeteries. We talk about burial customs, headstone symbolism, the history of cemeteries in the west, boot hills, and cultural identity reflected in western cemeteries. Ellen Baumler was the interpretive historian at the Montana Historical Society from 1992 until her retirement in 2018. She is the author or editor of numerous books, including Spirit Tailings: Ghost Tales from Virginia City, Helena and Butte, The Girl from the Gulches: The Story of Mary Ronan, and Dark Spaces: Montana’s Historic Penitentiary at Deer Lodge. Ellen is a master storyteller and public historian that makes history relevant through her writing, public appearances, radio spots, and historic walking tours.

To Learn More:
Check out Ellen’s new book, The Life of the Afterlife in the Big Sky State: A History of Montana’s Cemeteries.

Join us for a conversation with Dr. Matthew Bennett, the lead scientist on a recently published article in the Journal Science that examined a set of human footprints preserved on an ancient lakeshore in New Mexico’s White Sands National Park that date to between 21,000 and 23,000 years old. We discuss the fossilized human footprints, but we also talk about footprints of other animals including camels, mammoths, and giant sloths that are intermixed with the human prints at this site. We discuss how Matthew and his team determined that the footprints were those of children and teenagers, and how Matthew and his team have consulted with the 32 indigenous nations in the area and his commitment to an indigenous archaeology framework. Dr. Bennett brings this topic to life with his “evidence-based storytelling” so have a listen and enjoy our conversation about these ancient footprints that have pushed the evidence for the peopling of Americas back to at least 21,000 years ago.

For Further Reading:

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/24/1040381802/ancient-footprints-new-mexico-white-sands-humans
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58638854
https://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/fossil-footprints/
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/04/a-prehistoric-hunt-preserved-in-incredible-fossilized-tracks/558797/
https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/first-americans-how-and-when-were-americas-populated

On this podcast, Crystal and Nancy dig deep into the history of a historic structure in downtown Bozeman. This building is significant because it currently houses Nancy’s boutique, Moka along with three other businesses including Alara Jewelry, Plume Bridal and Visions West Gallery! We explore the history of this building through the historic characters and businesses that have occupied this space through the years. We talk about the history, but also talk with current tenants including Babs Noell that owns and operates Alara Jewelry. Babs has occupied her space in the building for 17 years. We talk with her about the history of her space, along with the ups and downs of having a shop within a historic structure. Join us for this “in the field” podcast as we explore downtown Bozeman and the Bon Ton Building! A big thanks to our sponsors for this episode, Steep Mountain Tea and The Western Heritage Center.

Join us as we talk with Anthony Wood about his new book, Black Montana: Settler Colonialism and the Erosion of the Racial Frontier, 1877-1930. Anthony talks with us about his work on the Montana African American Heritage Resources Project and how this inspired him to delve deeper into the history of Montana’s Black communities. His book explores the entanglements of race, settler colonialism, and the emergence of state and regional identity in the American West during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. By producing conditions of social, cultural, and economic precarity that undermined Black Montanans’ networks of kinship, community, and financial security, the state of Montana, in its capacity as a settler colony, worked to exclude the Black community that began to form inside its borders after Reconstruction. We unpack this to better understand why Montana’s Black community, and much of Montana’s diverse early communities, left Montana before 1930. Anthony is a PhD candidate in the Department of History at the University of Michigan. He worked as a historian for the Montana Historical Society on Montana’s African American Heritage Places Project.

For further reading:

Black Montana: Settler Colonialism and the Erosion of the Racial Frontier, 1877 – 1930 by Anthony Wood
What Comes Naturally: Miscegenation Law and the Making of Race in America by Peggy Pascoe
Montana’s African American Heritage Resources Project https://mhs.mt.gov/Shpo/AfricanAmericans/
Race and the Wild West: Sarah Bickford, the Montana Vigilantes, and the Tourism of Decline, 1870–1930
By Laura J. Arata