Celebrate National Native American Heritage Month in North Dakota

 

November is Native American Heritage Month and North Dakota is one of the few places left where visitors can get a sense of authentic Native American heritage. Native Americans make up more than 5 percent of the state’s population, placing it sixth in the nation in percentage living within state borders (http://worldpopulationreview.com/states/native-american-population). Travelers will see and feel the strong Native American cultural influences, whether visiting historic landmarks and ancestral lands or contemporary destinations.

The Seven tribes within North Dakota on the 5 reservations, include the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Yanktonai, Sisseton, Wahpeton, Hunkpapa and other Dakotah/Lakotah (more commonly known as the Sioux) tribes, along with the Pembina Chippewa, Cree and Metis. Each tribe is unique but has historically (and generally) shared a core belief that humankind has a special relationship with nature. Learn more at the North Dakota Heritage Center (https://statemuseum.nd.gov/) in Bismarck. Exhibits in the Innovation Gallery: Early Peoples is devoted to their stories dating back 13,000 years and showcases a diorama of Double Ditch Indian Village and a Native American Hall of Honor for those who have gone above and beyond in representing their tribe and culture.