lydia.hoverson@mydakotan.com
BISMARCK – The North Dakota Heritage Center, a museum here featuring the history of North Dakota, is continuously evolving to include new exhibits to feature different aspects of history.
On April 27 the center added a Native American exhibit to its collections, called “On the Edge of the Wind”, displayed in a way that reflects stories from 13 different storytellers of Native American descent.
Kim Jondahl, audience engagement and museums director for the State Historical Society, said Troyd Geist, folklorist from the North Dakota Council on the Arts, spent 10 years interviewing Native American elders and knowledge keepers and taking photographs of their sacred places.
“He came to us and asked if we would collaborate with putting an exhibit together, and we said yes,” said Jondahl. “It’s a very peaceful exhibit. When you come in you can hear the sounds of the evening in nature.”
Jondahl said two of the 13 storytellers have passed away in the past 10 years.
“They are elders and knowledge keepers who have the rights in their tribal nations to tell certain stories,” said Jondahl. “So what they’re telling here is stories and places that are sacred to them, or have a very special meaning, that are within the region.”
Jondahl said the legislature provides funding to put together an exhibit, and the Historical Society’s internal committee decides what exhibits to display. The Heritage Center began planning for a Native American exhibit in 2018.
The new exhibit replaced a Fashion and Function exhibit featuring the different styles throughout North Dakota history.
“Our curators and exhibit staff broke that exhibit down and we put this one together with Troyd’s help,” said Jondahl.
The Heritage Center was built in 1981 and features other exhibits featuring agriculture, war, and other historical points. Most of the area that the exhibits are now held in were built in 2014, which was an addition of 19,000 square feet, almost doubling the original size.
Jondahl said each exhibit ranges from $250,000 to $500,000, though for the Native American exhibit the center shared costs with the Council on the Arts. Jondahl said renting a national travel exhibit can cost up to one million dollars for a few months.
“We’re actually very economical,” said Jondahl. “We have a team that can build the structures, put the cases together. We have 80,000 plus artifacts in our collection that we can choose from.”
The North Dakota State Legislature recently passed a bill that requires the Bank of North Dakota to extend a line of credit of $20 million for a military museum planned to be built as an addition to the Heritage Center.
More information on the North Dakota Heritage Center can be found on its website. The Historical Society has about 85 full-time staff, along with seasonal part-time staff and volunteers.
