Act 1

Act 2

At her best, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie books offer a door for readers to walk through to get the full picture of the world the Ingalls were  living in. She may not tell you everything in the books (and in some cases, she tells you very little), but ideally she leaves you wanting more. For instance: Who were the Native Americans living alongside the Ingalls? What were buffalo wolves? Do they still exist? In this episode, we’re going to try and paint a bigger picture for you. Imagine you are standing in the doorway of any one of Laura’s Little Houses. You’re looking outside. What might you actually be seeing?

Go Deeper:
More on the buffalo slaughtering of the 19th century
Learn more about the US Dakota War of 1862
Little War on the Prairie (This American Life ep 479), featuring Gwen Westerman
Mni Sota Makoce: Land of the Dakota by Gwen Westerman and Bruce White
Dr. Chris Wells’ work
Dr. Flannery Burke’s work

At her best, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie books offer a door for readers to walk through to get the full picture of the world the Ingalls were  living in. She may not tell you everything in the books (and in some cases, she tells you very little), but ideally she leaves you wanting more. For instance: Who were the Native Americans living alongside the Ingalls? What were buffalo wolves? Do they still exist? In this episode, we’re going to try and paint a bigger picture for you. Imagine you are standing in the doorway of any one of Laura’s Little Houses. You’re looking outside. What might you actually be seeing?
Go Deeper: <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2016/05/the-buffalo-killers/482349/">More on the buffalo slaughtering of the 19th century</a> <a href="https://cla.umn.edu/chgs/holocaust-genocide-education/resource-guides/us-dakota-war-1862">Learn more about the US Dakota War of 1862</a> <a href="https://www.thisamericanlife.org/479/little-war-on-the-prairie">Little War on the Prairie (This American Life ep 479), featuring Gwen Westerman</a> <a href="https://shop.mnhs.org/products/mni-sota-makoce">Mni Sota Makoce: Land of the Dakota by Gwen Westerman and Bruce White</a> <a href="http://cwwells.net/">Dr. Chris Wells’ work</a> <a href="https://www.slu.edu/arts-and-sciences/american-studies/faculty/burke-flannery.php">Dr. Flannery Burke’s work</a>

Jack Kerouac but make it a girl with braids. Carrie Bradshaw, but without the sex, and also braids. An American Icon. An American Odyssey. American propaganda. Violently so, in some cases. Laura Ingalls Wilder is evergreen. For better or worse. Since the first Little House book was published in 1932, generations of readers have flocked to Laura’s cozy stories of the Ingalls family settling the Western frontier. The series inspired a TV show, pageants, and entire fashion lines. Behind this franchise is a woman who experienced almost a full century of American history. She’d made her first trips in a covered wagon, and eventually flew on a jet plane. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s life and legacy remain as powerful, mesmerizing, controversial, and violent as the America she represents. In a country currently at odds with itself and its history could there be a better time for an exploration of this woman?

Jack Kerouac but make it a girl with braids. Carrie Bradshaw, but without the sex, and also braids. An American Icon. An American Odyssey. American propaganda. Violently so, in some cases. Laura Ingalls Wilder is evergreen. For better or worse. Since the first Little House book was published in 1932, generations of readers have flocked to Laura’s cozy stories of the Ingalls family settling the Western frontier. The series inspired a TV show, pageants, and entire fashion lines. Behind this franchise is a woman who experienced almost a full century of American history. She’d made her first trips in a covered wagon, and eventually flew on a jet plane. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s life and legacy remain as powerful, mesmerizing, controversial, and violent as the America she represents. In a country currently at odds with itself and its history could there be a better time for an exploration of this woman?

Wilder

6. Outside the Little Houses

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/8e6e7a6f-0b84-4b2b-ac49-b03d016ca03f/transcript

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