we trace the stories that have shaped this region, from early conflicts between Indigenous nations and European settlers to the creation of the state and the ongoing struggles for freedom, community, and belonging.
In a place where we're told divisions among people, land, and history run deep, we remain a community bound by the weight of what's come before us. From the earliest conflicts between Indigenous nations and European settlers, the creation of a Nation and a State, to the enslavement of people brought here against their will; through the upheaval of civil war, and the ongoing struggles for freedom, community, and belonging. Northwest Arkansas holds stories that demand to be heard. In this season of the underview, the story of Northwest Arkansas, we journey back, not just to remember, but to reckon.
We'll explore the lives that shaped this land: Indigenous nations, settlers driven by Manifest Destiny, enslaved people, neighbors torn apart by civil war, immigrants who helped build an agricultural empire, and the arrival of global capitalism.
Together, we'll trace the path of power through these Ozark mountains, seeking ways to heal the divides that still shape us today.
This isn't just history - it's the roots of our present, grounding us in where we've been and what it means for us now. If you're looking to understand how we arrived at this moment and how we move forward, we have answers.
I invite you to join us as we remember, honor, and work to repair these untold stories as we move toward our collective future and the shaping of our place.
In this final episode of season two, host Mike Rusch reflects on the story of Northwest Arkansas from Indigenous removal and slavery to immigration, labor, and power today.
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Barbara Carr, 5th generation descendant of master builder and formerly enslaved Aaron Anderson “Rock” Van Winkle, shares her family’s story of resilience, erasure, and reclamation, closing the season on Northwest Arkansas’s history with truth, memory, and repair.
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Sociologist Jerry Moore helps uncover the life of Aaron Anderson “Rock” Van Winkle — one of the first enslaved people brought to Northwest Arkansas, whose life and labor left a lasting impact on the region’s development.
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Dr. Todd Stockdale examine how thinkers like John Locke, Max Weber, and Karl Marx shaped U.S. ideologies of freedom, property, and power, and how Protestant theology helped justify systems of exclusion, race, and settler colonialism.
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Dr. Jared Phillips explores the rise of Southern Evangelicalism in politics, tracing how faith, race, and power intersected through Jimmy Carter’s presidency and shaped belonging in the Ozarks and beyond.
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Irvin Camacho, a Community Rights Organizer and immigrant advocate based in Northwest Arkansas, shares how his family's experience shaped his understanding of labor, language, and belonging.
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Magaly Licolli of Venceremos explores the lives of poultry workers in Northwest Arkansas. We discuss conditions in the poultry processing industry, the role of immigrant labor, and how grassroots organizing is challenging corporate systems and shaping the future of labor rights in the region.
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Historian Olivia Paschal explores how Walmart, Tyson, and J.B. Hunt shaped capitalism in Northwest Arkansas and how their growth continues to influence housing, labor, immigration, and the deeper question of who gets to belong in our region.
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Dr. Perla Guerrero shares her story from an undocumented immigrant in Arkansas to a U.S. citizen & explains how NW Arkansas transformed from 99% white to multiracial. We examine spatial illegality & how historical patterns of racial control influence immigrant experiences in the contemporary South.
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Dr. Steven Rosales traces Latino immigration to Arkansas, exploring how labor demands, U.S. policy, and corporate expansion drew Latino workers to Northwest Arkansas and what it means for belonging today.
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Dr. Jared Phillips explores how corporate consolidation, industrial agriculture, and political power reshaped the Ozarks, connecting civil rights and labor history to the modern rise of Latino immigration in Northwest Arkansas.
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Alli Thurmond Quinlan unpacks how zoning policies in Fayetteville have been used to exclude and how land use and planning can become tools for repair and justice.
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Tommie Flowers Davis shares the story of Fayetteville’s historic Black neighborhood and the urgent need to protect it through the creation of a Black Historic District.
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Dr. Michael Pierce explores how race, labor, and civil rights shaped Northwest Arkansas—from early union movements to political power shifts—and how those systems still influence who belongs today.
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Emily Pianalto-Beshears shares how Tontitown’s Italian immigrants shaped belonging in the Ozarks through labor, tradition, and memory.
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Filmmaker Larry Foley unpacks the journey of Italian immigrants from Sunnyside Plantation to Tontitown, Arkansas—revealing a deeper story of labor, faith, and migration in the American South.
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The history of the Trail of Tears in Northwest Arkansas and the development of the mapping of the entire trail routes throughout Northwest Arkansas.
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This episode explores the deep history of Cane Hill, Arkansas—from the Trail of Tears and slavery to the state’s first co-ed college and a thriving Black community.
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In this episode with Dr. Jared M. Phillips, we explore how the geography, agrarian limits, and early settler beliefs shaped the foundation of Ozark identity and the enduring mythology of the region.
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Historian Rachel Whitaker, Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, explores the early formation of Washington and Benton Counties, white settler power, slavery, and Black history in Northwest Arkansas.
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Samuel West Peel, the first native-born Arkansan elected to the U.S. Congress and one of the most powerful political figures to emerge from Northwest Arkansas.
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What does it mean to inherit a legacy tied to land, opportunity, & the first settler? Sixth-generation descendants of one of Northwest Arkansas’s earliest white settlers share how their family is choosing to remember and reckon with a complex past.
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Judge Barry Moehring on the move of Bentonville’s Confederate statue and what it reveals about history, memory, and community.
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The Civil War. Causes, Impact on Northwest Arkansas, and Influences Today.
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Part 2: Arkansas secession, Civil War, and Reconstruction. Unraveling slavery’s grip and its lasting impact today.
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Part 1: How slavery was foundational to Arkansas, shaping its economy, politics, and social structures. The rise of the “second slavery,” the lived experiences of enslaved people, and how its legacy continues to influence economic and social disparities today.
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How the Mississippi River shaped Northwest Arkansas, its land, people, economy, and myths, revealing deeper truths about place and belonging.
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The Quapaw Nation’s resilience, identity, and sovereignty..Barbara Kyser-Collier shares their fight to reclaim history.
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Reviving Quapaw culture, reclaiming history, Betty Gaedtke shapes clay, culture, and identity for future generations.
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Part 2 & 3: Settler colonialism’s lasting impact, Melissa Horner explores Indigenous resilience, systemic harm, and paths to repair.
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Melissa Horner unpacks settler colonialism’s ongoing impact, land, culture, sovereignty, and the systems shaping us today.
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Indigenous culture endures - art, history, and legacy shaping Northwest Arkansas beyond the myths we've inherited.
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Unearthing 14,000 years of history - lost civilizations, hidden stories, and the land beneath our feet.
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the story of Northwest Arkansas - conflict, resilience, and belonging shape the past, present, and future of this place.
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Season 2 Introduction, the story of Northwest Arkansas with Mike Rusch.
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