Mapping History: Lesbian Feminist Cooperative Farms in Greater Minnesota (episode 114)
Many histories of the LGBTQIA+ community are focused on metropolitan areas, but a recent mapping project has elevated the stories of a group of Lesbian feminist cooperative farms in rural Minnesota in the 1970s.
In this episode, historian and host Dr. Chantel Rodríguez explores how living off of the land gave Lesbian Feminists a sense of freedom, safety and community. Chantel spoke with two guests: Leila Stallone, a researcher who works on the The Greater Minnesota Two-Spirit LGBTQIA+ History Map Project, and Meadow Muska, a photographer who documented life on the farm. Together, they share stories about how the decision to move into rural areas and build cooperative farms was an act of self-determination, community building and defiance.
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Transcripts
English Transcript PDF (313KB)
Guests
Meadow Muska
Meadow Muska is a documentary photographer and labor and women’s rights activist. After graduating from Ohio University with a BFA in photography she would use her art as a way of recording “beautiful, strong women full of love and joy.” Beginning in the 1970s with the early Woman’s Land movement, Muska created a rare photographic record of lesbian collectives. Due to legal and cultural prejudices against LGBTQ individuals, photographing her community was considered a radical act leading Muska to work in relative secrecy for decades. After keeping her images hidden for over 40 years, Muska featured 29 images at the Minneapolis Institute of Art in her 2019 award-winning show “Strong Women, Full of Love.”
Photo: Katharine Andriotis
Leila Stallone
Leila Stallone (they/she) is an intern in the Community Engagement Department at the Minnesota Historical Society. They hold a B.A. in Anthropology and Environmental Studies from Bard College. Since joining MNHS in September of 2024, they have been working on the Greater Minnesota Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ History Map Project. Launched in May of 2025, the mapping project uses ArcGIS mapping software to map out relevant Two-Spirit and Queer historical places, landmarks, people, and organizations throughout Greater Minnesota. From 4 years of farming experience, Leila is passionate about creating food sovereignty for all, radical rural cooperatives, and continues to think about the relationship of land and living histories through their research.
Rising Moon welcoming, Aitkin, Minnesota, 1974
Lisyli Hardin and Robin Deeming were two very caring and wonderful Lesbian women who lived at Rising Moon in 1974. Photo used with permission. Photo: © Meadow Muska All Rights Reserved.
Primary Sources
Nett Hart Oral History Interview. Southern Lesbian Feminist Activist Herstory Project. https://slfaherstoryproject.org/home-2/contributors/nett-hart/
“Breaking Barriers: Harvesting LGBTQ Stories from the Northern Plains.” Rainbow Seniors Oral History Project. North Dakota State University. https://www.rainbowseniorsoralhistory.org/listen-now/ So’s Your Old Lady: A Lesbian-Feminist Journal. No. 1 (February, 1973) to No. 22 (September 1979). Quatrefoil Library. Periodicals.
Secondary Sources
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Brown, Dona. Back to the Land : The Enduring Dream of Self-Sufficiency in Modern America. University of Wisconsin Press, 2011.
Cameron, Linda A. "Farm Crisis, 1979–1987." MNopedia, Minnesota Historical Society. http://www.mnopedia.org/event/farm-crisis-1979-1987.
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