Public Lands in the New West Past and Present: Entitlement, Conflict, and Conspiracy
| Dates: | September 11, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Meets: | Fri. from 12 Noon to 1:30 PM |
| Location: | Online Presentation |
| Cost: | $0.00 |
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Betsy Gaines Quammen, a Bozeman-based environmental historian, writer and conservationist, will discuss her new book, “American Zion: Cliven Bundy, God and Public Lands in the West.” The book explores the 27-year legal battle and land-use war, launched from Bunkerville, Nevada, between Cliven Bundy and his large family and local, state and federal governments. She will also discuss research for the book and ongoing conspiracy theories, as well as comparisons to the current unrest between the government and the American public.
In “American Zion,” Quammen argues that the Bundys are engaged in open conflict with the U.S. government, a conflict traceable back to that time when adherents of the Church of Latter-day Saints came west, bringing militant beliefs, some legitimate grievances and their certainty of claiming a God-promised homeland they call Zion. She describes the bookas a journey through the New West, one still haunted by nineteenth century white settlement, violence and an enduring sense of entitlement.
Audience members are encouraged to read “American Zion” but it is not necessary for engaging in this highly topical and pertinent conversation on the legacy of Native people, public lands, government control and ongoing lawlessness based on religious zealotry.
In “American Zion,” Quammen argues that the Bundys are engaged in open conflict with the U.S. government, a conflict traceable back to that time when adherents of the Church of Latter-day Saints came west, bringing militant beliefs, some legitimate grievances and their certainty of claiming a God-promised homeland they call Zion. She describes the bookas a journey through the New West, one still haunted by nineteenth century white settlement, violence and an enduring sense of entitlement.
Audience members are encouraged to read “American Zion” but it is not necessary for engaging in this highly topical and pertinent conversation on the legacy of Native people, public lands, government control and ongoing lawlessness based on religious zealotry.
| Fee: | $0.00 |
Online Presentation
This is a real-time (live) online class that meets at the specified day(s)/time(s) listed.We will send you a reminder email with login instructions one business day before the program start date. If there are additional sessions, we will send reminders the morning of those sessions.
Betsy Gaines Quammen
As an environmental historian, writer and conservationist, Betsy Gaines Quammen has studied various religious traditions over the years and is fascinated at how religious and cultural views shape relationships to landscape and wildlife. The rural American West, pastoral communities of northern Mongolia and the grasslands of East Africa have been her main areas of interest.Audience members are encouraged to read “American Zion” but it is not necessary for engaging in this highly topical and pertinent conversation on the legacy of Native people, public lands, government control and ongoing lawlessness based on religious zealotry.