About this episode
January 9 saw the release of a new Netflix series, American Primeval, set in the context of mid-19th-century Utah. Though the series is fictionalized, many of the events and peoples depicted are real, including the Utah War, the Mountain Meadows Massacre, the Mormon settlers, and the Shoshone, Ute, and Paiute Indians. Historians Barbara Jones Brown and Darren Parry join host John Dehlin for this live podcast to answer viewer's questions about which aspects of the series are factual and which are historical fiction. Barbara is co-author of Vengeance Is Mine: The Mountain Meadows Massacre and Its Aftermath, and Darren is the author of The Bear River Massacre: A Shoshone History. Barbara and Darren offer a unique perspective because they are not only historians of this time period in Utah, they are direct descendants of peoples depicted in the mini-series--Darren is Northwestern Shoshone, and Barbara is a descendant of perpetrators of the horrific massacre at Mountain Meadows. Show Notes YouTube 00:00:00 Intro 00:06:25 Photos of ancestors 00:14:15 The creators did not intend this to be historically accurate 00:23:55 We need to debunk that this was done by the Native Americans, it was NOT 00:33:45 Jim Bridger’s character was the funnest character in the show 00:42:45 Brigham Young (Kim Coates) what is right and wrong 00:47:40 Jedediah M. Grant and the Mormon Reformation 00:57:25 Elias Higbee and John M. Higbee 01:07:45 Mountain Meadows started as a cattle raid 01:18:50 Made up fiction from the Nauvoo Legion 01:26:11 Two Moons - great female lead who had had her tongue cut out 01:30:40 Red Feather 01:35:00 Winter Bird - Strong female character 01:39:10 Sarah Rowell and Devin Rowell - neither were Mormon, main characters, 01:43:20 Jacob Pratt and Abish Pratt were both Mormon 01:46:55 Wild Bill Hickman - member of the Nauvoo Legion 01:51:20 What Barbara said about the missed opportunity in the TV show 01:55:00 Ned Blackhawk Mormon Stories Thanks Our Generous Donors! Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today: One-time or recurring donation through Donorbox Support us on Patreon PayPal Venmo Our Platforms: YouTube Patreon Spotify Apple Podcasts Contact us: MormonStories@gmail.com PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117 Social Media: Insta: @mormstories TikTok: @mormonstoriespodcast Join the Discord