© 2023 | Jefferson Public Radio
Southern Oregon University
1250 Siskiyou Blvd.
Ashland, OR 97520
541.552.6301 | 800.782.6191
a service of Southern Oregon University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Exchange Exemplar: how the Bundy family got to their way of thinking

Cliven Bundy and his anti-government family may be a modern American phenomenon, but the roots of the family and its beliefs are deep in the American West and the Mormon religion.

The elder Bundy rose to national prominence in the "Bunkerville standoff," in which armed supporters of the Bundy family held off federal agents intent on removing Bundy's cattle from federal land where he had failed to pay grazing fees. Bundy's sons led the six-week standoff at Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Writer Betsy Gaines Quammen visited with the family and dug deep in the history for her book American Zion: Cliven Bundy, God & Public Lands in the West.

The author's 2020 visit is replayed here.

Stay Connected
The Jefferson Exchange is Jefferson Public Radio's daily talk show focused on news and interests across our region of Southern Oregon and Northern California. Angela Decker is the senior producer, Charlie Zimmermann is the assistant producer, and Geoffrey Riley hosts the show.