the Peel family with Chelsea Stewart (ep 2, 17).

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In this episode of the underview, we explore the life and legacy of Samuel West Peel — the first native-born Arkansan elected to the U.S. Congress and one of the most influential political figures to emerge from Northwest Arkansas. Historian Chelsea Stewart of the Peel Museum joins us to trace Peel’s rise through family connections, legal influence, and public office, and to help us confront the deeper complexities of his legacy.

From his role in shaping U.S. Indian policy — including support for the Dawes Act and Indian boarding schools — to his later work as legal counsel for tribal nations, Peel’s story reveals how local power structures were woven into national systems of displacement and assimilation.

Together, we examine the memory of Peel’s influence, the unresolved questions around his relationships and motivations, and the broader implications of a legacy built through privilege, policy, and control. This episode invites listeners to reckon with the stories we preserve, the voices we’ve silenced, and the kind of truth-telling our region needs to move forward.

https://www.theunderview.com/episodes/the-underview-samuel-west-peel-family-arkansas

About the underview:

The underview is an exploration of the development of our Communal Theology of Place viewed through the medium of bikes, land, and people to discover community wholeness.

Website: ⁠⁠theunderview.com⁠⁠
Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠@underviewthe
Host: @mikerusch

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