Intertribal tourism alliance holds free Native American Heritage Month Celebration this weekend in North Dakota capital

Key to the celebration is that “all of this is being told by our own Native people –– our cultural stories, our cultural history through our own voices, hearts and minds because we’re oral people,” said Stacey LaCompte, the alliance director.

The North Dakota Native Tourism Alliance represents the interests of all American Indian nations within the state: Spirit Lake Nation, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.

LaCompte said the gathering acts as a cultural and educational awareness event. The idea for the celebration came after the staff and board noticed people wanting to know more about the background of the tribal nations.

“A lot of people don’t know the significance or the explanation of what our regalia means, what our dances mean, what our songs mean,” she said. “Then they want to know the history of our tribes.

This year the alliance is honoring the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. During last year’s inaugural celebration, the Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara Nation received special recognition.

Attendees can look forward to storytelling, traditional food, networking and performances by Turtle Mountain drum group, Iron Alliance, which are set to occur throughout the weekend. A ceremony for the Native American Hall of Honor is on the program at 3 p.m. on Friday. Organizers expect vendors from across the state to offer handcrafted goods, including ribbon shirts, ribbon skirts, beaded jewelry, art, blankets and more.

James DeCoteau plans to be the first of the storytellers to speak. He is a cultural liaison for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewas. His job includes preserving traditional knowledge and informing others of ceremonial etiquette. He is focussing on the origins of the Ojibwe and Anishinaabe people, who originally resided along the Atlantic Coast.

“I want to talk a little bit about our ancient history of where we come from, where we started out, as the Ojibwe people were not originally from North Dakota,” he said. “We were an east coast nation as Anishinaabe people.”

The other two storytellers are Marshall Laroque and JT Shining Oneside. Laroque is going to discuss the modern history of the tribe. The last speaker will be Shining Oneside, who will be sharing other bits of cultural knowledge, according to the program.

For centuries, American Indians have been left out of the popular narrative. A dark history of cultural genocide and assimilation silenced Indigenous voices for generations.

“Now we’re able to start telling our stories, start sharing our culture and our history,” DeCoteau said. “It helps relieve a little bit of that trauma that was caused by the era of, you know, extermination.”

The celebration at the North Dakota Heritage Center provides an opportunity for both Native and non-Native participants to learn more about the importance of preserving traditional cultural knowledge.

DeCoteau said he likes the setting. “We’re able to do this in Bismarck and the state capital,” he said. “This is something that’ll be able to be shared locally with our people here and something that we could share with North Dakota residents, maybe even the United States as a whole.”

Les Thomas, the alliance vice president, said they’ve been working to improve the event and expand their other tourism operations each year. Among activities are tours for international delegations.

“We always keep going, no matter if there are little road bumps,” Thomas said. The organization’s outreach extends beyond North Dakota boundaries to South Dakota, Wyoming and Idaho. “This is on an international level now that we’re doing this,” he added.

DeCoteau said he looks forward to meeting new people this weekend. He and the other storytellers expect to be there throughout the event on Friday and Saturday.

“The message is that we as tribal people belong here and we’re still here,” DeCoteau said. “We’re going to continue to be here through the tough times and when time gets better,” he said. “It’s good for everyone to know a little bit of the history of the people of North Dakota and helps to know where we come from and who we are.”