Host Mary Swander provides background on the research and production of her new play Squatters on Red Earth, a peaceful encounter in the middle of the white settler land grab. Swander details her interactions with both the people of the Amana Colonies and the Meskwaki Settlement. These two groups, wanting nothing more than to remain hidden from the outside world, had a positive experience together in the early settlement days-all the while genocide whirled around them. Laura Hudson Kittrell sings Manifest Destiny. Rip Russell gives a short excerpt from the play. Brant Bollman, the director, speaks about the puppetry in the performance.

Connect with us on our new Substack pages where you will see photos and extras from the podcast:

And Mary Swander's Emerging Voices, showcasing young, diverse writers on current topics:

Become a premium member of our podcast Mary Swander's Buggy Land and gain access to bonus interviews, books, postcards, and poetry critiques. Have Mary join you and a small group for a reading. Visit: https://agarts.supercast.com/

Your donation to Buggy Land helps make this podcast a sustainable business and allows us to do this work. We could not do it without you. Thank you for your support. Make your donation: https://www.agarts.org/donate/

AgArts is a non-profit organization based in Kalona, Iowa, whose mission is to imagine and promote healthy food systems through the arts. The Executive Director and host of Buggy Land is award-winning author Mary Swander. https://maryswander.com/. Learn more about AgArts: https://www.agarts.org/

Say hello on Facebook and Instagram
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Listen on Spotify

Today's episode was produced and mixed by Rick Brewer of Brewhaha Audio Productions.