The North Dakota Heritage Center

in Bismarck houses a fine museum, somewhat to my surprise.  I hadn't visited it for several years and was impressed with the wealth of exhibits on display there.  State Historical Society Director Merl Paaverud and his staff can be proud of this visual and auditory feast.

  A statue of Sakakawea, or Sacajawea if you prefer, stands at the entrance of the Heritage Center, a stone's throw from the State Capitol Building.

  Before the present ice age [North Dakota's winters are chilly at best], this state was a big swamp and we have the fossils to prove it.

    Big critters, under the water and on the land, abounded.

  The earliest settlers favored shelters that were mobile so they could follow the buffalo herds that predominated the landscape.  I didn't know that the vent at the top of the tipi was constructed so that it could be widened or narrowed and otherwise changed to let smoke out while maintaining as much heat as possible, given the wind conditions.

  A golden eagle holds his prey.  Native Americans respected the eagle for its speed, agility, and because it soared in the sky, close to The Great Spirit.

  European settlers brought their religions to North Dakota where Scandinavians and Germans make up the majority of the state's population today.

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