Our nation is 250 — but 250 years ago, Iowa was a world apart. An ecologist takes us back to a yesteryear’s landscape of endless tallgrass prairie, bison, elk and whooping cranes, and explains why Iowa is now the most ecologically altered state in the nation. A historian discusses the Indigenous nations living here in 1776 and why the American Revolution mattered enormously to people who may not have even known it was happening. And the tribal historic preservation officer of the Meskwaki Nation joins the program to discuss on her people's presence in Iowa.
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A map created by leaders of the Ioway Tribe in 1837 to defend claims of their homeland offers a powerful perspective on history, one that challenges how we understand early American mapping. We speak with author William Green and tribal historian Alan Kelley about what this map reveals. Plus, a look back at the 2020 Midwest Derecho and what scientists have learned in the years since. -
Black Future Fest is a month-long celebration focusing on Afrofuturistic art, fashion and community imagination in Iowa City. On this episode, Black Future Fest organizer Latasha DeLoach and professor of journalism and African American Studies Venise Berry join to discuss Afrofuturism and the upcoming events. Later, reflecting on the legacy of Lee Swearengin, who spent decades of his life institutionalized, but made tremendous contributions to Iowa archeology.
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'Warrior Girl Unearthed' is a young adult thriller that gives readers insight into Ojibwe culture, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, missing and murdered Indigenous persons and teenage shenanigans. On this episode of 'Talk of Iowa,' host Charity Nebbe talks with author Angeline Boulley about her inspiration for the novel, then turns to three expert readers. (This episode was originally produced June 10, 2025.)
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Two new exhibitions at the Dubuque Museum of Art rethink representation through Indigenous, Latinx and community-centered storytelling. Then, two sisters organize an annual Thanksgiving day giveaway of pies, no questions asked.
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A Native American woman from Arizona was nearly deported by federal immigration officials after a clerical error at the Polk County Jail. The woman's family had to scramble to prove she was Indigenous and shouldn't be turned over to ICE. -
The book Red Earth Nation: a History of the Meskwaki Settlement tells that story. On this Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe speaks with Meskwaki tribal historian Johnathan Buffalo and author Eric Steven Zimmer.
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The number of people identifying as Native Americans in the U.S. nearly doubled between 2010 and 2020, according to the U.S. Census.
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Experts discuss the process of repatriating Indigenous cultural items and why it's important.
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The student's research found that the statue, which had been part of the Mount Vernon college's art collection for over a century, had been taken from the Etowah Indian Mounds in Georgia in 1886. It was returned to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation on Sept. 30.
