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Unwinding the fraught and complex narratives of the past

Ana Maria Spagna had spent more than 30 years living in the remote town of Chelan Falls, Washington before she learned of an alleged massacre of local Chinese miners by a group of Indigenous people. Yet, years of fruitful research failed to turn up any definitive proof that a massacre ever happened. What it did produce was a window into the xenophobic attitudes and narratives throughout Pacific Northwest history. Ana is the author of "Pushed: Miners, a Merchant, and (Maybe) a Massacre."

Underground History host, Chelsea Rose, talks with Ana about her book. She's joined by archaeologist Eric Gleason, who has also done extensive research and given presentations on the alleged Chelan Falls Massacre. He primarily works with his wife Jacqui Cheung, who is a member of the Oregon Chinese Diaspora Project's Chinese American Advisory Committee.

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Chelsea Rose is the director of the Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology (SOULA) and host of the Underground History podcast, which airs during the Jefferson Exchange on JPR's News & Information service and can be found on all major podcast platforms.