Warning: American Primeval spoilers ahead!
The only thing more horrific than the violent story of American Primeval is that it’s based on true events.
A dramatization of the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre, the Netflix limited series follows Sara Rowell (Betty Glipin), a determined mother who hires a guide named Isaac (Taylor Kitsch) to help her safely navigate across the Western frontier with her son, Devin Rowell (Preston Mota). But that safety is compromised when their party is attacked by Mormon soldiers disguised as Native Americans — and they find themselves in the middle of a deadly battle for control of the American West.
The gritty Western premiered on Jan. 9 and took over the No. 1 spot in the streamer’s top 10 the following day. Director Peter Berg told Tudum in January 2025 that he was inspired to make American Primeval after reading about the Utah War, a confrontation between the Mormon people and the U.S. government over land ownership that led to the violent killing of over 120 settlers, per Smithsonian Magazine.
Executive producer Eric Newman described the retelling as “an anti-nostalgic, truthful look at our history.”
“These rose-colored glasses in which we view the past, from the first Thanksgiving onward, is a lie,” he told Tudum. “It’s a lie meant to make us feel good about this really rugged, brutal path that we’ve taken. I think we do a disservice to ourselves by looking at it in that way because it prevents us from seeing it [happening] again.”
So, is American Primeval based on a true story? Here’s everything to know about the real-life massacre that inspired the six-episode series — and how faithful the dramatization is to the historical event.
Is American Primeval based on a true story?
Yes, American Primeval is based on true events. Berg told Tudum that he first found inspiration for the series in 2020 after reading about the Utah War. Though many of the show’s characters and their narratives are fictionalized, the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre inspired the attack depicted in the first episode.
“We chose that because there was this intersection between a few different Native nations, the US government, the Mormons, and the American citizens who felt they had the right to move through this area,” Newman said. “The Mountain Meadows Massacre did happen … and it became, for our narrative purposes, an inciting incident of conflict for our cast of characters.”
Who was Jim Bridger?
Jim Bridger, played by Shea Whigham in American Primeval, was a pioneer and fur trapper during the 19th century. He earned a reputation as one of the greatest explorers and mountain men of that era, surviving multiple dangerous expeditions across the largely uncharted Western frontier, per the National Park Service. Bridger has multiple mountain ranges, towns, wilderness areas and even a national forest named in his honor.
Will Poulter portrayed the famed mountaineer as a young boy in the Leonardo DiCaprio-led movie The Revenant. American Primeval takes place 50 years after the events of the 2015 film.
Who was Brigham Young?
Brigham Young, played by Kim Coates in the series, was the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the 19th century. According to Smithsonian Magazine, he served as governor of the Utah Territory for seven years and ran it as a theocracy, giving churches authority over civil affairs.
In 1857, President James Buchanan appointed a new governor to replace Young and enforce federal law. This — along with decades of tension between the Mormons and the federal government over land ownership and plural marriage — created a heightened sense of war hysteria among members of the church.
“Brigham Young and the Mormons feel as though the military is about to attack them at any point in time, so they’ve started their own army called the Nauvoo Legion,” Newman told Tudum. “The American Army is concerned with getting the Mormons out of Utah territory, so they’re nervous that they’re going to die fighting the Mormons.”
He continued, “The Shoshone and the Paiute tribes are being squeezed from their lands by both sides, so they feel like they’re getting ready to die. The miners and the trappers at Fort Bridger are all seeing their lives extinguished by larger trapper companies who are coming in and squeezing them out. Everybody is anxious from the get-go and everyone is truly fighting to stay alive.”
To maintain historical authenticity in American Primeval, executive producer Mark L. Smith told Tudum that many of Young’s sermons in the series are pulled directly from sermons he gave in real life.
Is Fort Bridger a real place?
Yes, Fort Bridger is a real place. In 1843, Bridger built a trading post in what is now Wyoming as a stop for people migrating West. The mountaineer ran it for many years before it was purchased by the Mormons in 1855, per Wyoming State Parks. However, Bridger claimed he was forced to flee his fort in 1853 after Young sent 150 armed men to arrest him for treaty violations.
Fearing the approach of the U.S. Army, Mormon leaders burned Fort Bridger in the fall of 1857. The site’s remains were dedicated as a Wyoming Historical Landmark and Museum in 1933. People can still visit the former fort today.
What was the Mountain Meadows Massacre?
In the summer of 1857, a wagon trail of 140 settlers from Arkansas heading to California set up camp in a valley known as the Mountain Meadows, per Smithsonian Magazine. They were attacked by a group of men with painted faces and fought back in a violent siege that lasted five days.
Truce only came when a White man holding a white flag approached the settlers and told them that the Mormon army had stopped the attackers and could escort them safely out of the area if they handed over their guns. That olive branch turned out to be a ruse, and the Mormon army shot and killed everyone over the age of 7.
The Mormons covered up their involvement for decades, blaming the Paiute Indians. Though the tribe took part in the initial attack, historians established over time that the Mormons held responsibility. It wasn’t until September 2007, 150 years after the massacre, that the Mormon church formally acknowledged its members’ role in the murders.
Was Abish a real person?
No, Abish (played by Saura Lightfoot-Leon) was not a real person. However, Berg told Tudum that the character was inspired by the multiple historical accounts of women who were abducted by Indigenous tribes during that time.
“We wanted to explore the idea of this young Mormon woman who’s being kind of pushed into a life and a marriage that she did not ask for, and through fate, ends up in a much different world and never fully assimilates,” the director said.
Was James Wolsey a real person?
Newman told Tudum that James Wolsey (Joe Tippett) is a fictional character but is based on a real LDS member who was executed for participating in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. One such man was John D. Lee, who was a part of the Mormon militia that led the attack, suspecting that the settlers held hostility towards the church, per the National Park Service.
Though he remained an active church leader after the mass murder, he was excommunicated in 1870 and hid from authorities until 1874. Lee was found guilty of murder and executed by firing squad at the Mountain Meadows Massacre site in 1877.
How many people died during the Mountain Meadows Massacre?
According to Smithsonian Magazine, roughly 120 people were killed during the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Only 17 children under the age of 7 were spared.
Read the full article here
