Three Affiliated Tribes ready for Lewis and Clark event
The event, titled "Reunion at the Home of Sakakawea" will be held Thursday through Sunday on the 4 Bears peninsula west of New Town. It is named for the woman Three Affiliated Tribes Chairman Tex Hall calls the most celebrated woman in American history.
"Her contributions are tremendous. Without Sakakawea, there would have been no Lewis and Clark military expedition," he said. "'Reunion' will pay tribute to her life, and you will hear from her descendants."
[See also: The Bismarck Tribune:]
NEW TOWN - Under a sky as blue as creation, where the water shines, a celebration is being readied.
The people of the Three Affiliated Tribes welcome all to the 200th anniversary of the return of Lewis and Clark Thursday through Sunday.
This is the second-to-last of 15 national signature events commemorating the bicentennial of America's greatest exploration. It's the third hosted by a Plains Indian group.
The event will be staged on the 4 Bears peninsula, four miles west of New Town, directly behind the 4 Bears Casino.
The theme is"Reunion at the Home of Sakakawea," named for the reunion of the explorers near New Town on their return from the Pacific Ocean and for Sakakawea, a Hidatsa woman, who accompanied and guided them.
There will be land and water parades, singing, dancing, indigenous games, feasting, storytelling and an emphasis on Sakakawea, described by tribal chairman Tex Hall as the most celebrated woman in American history.
"Her contributions are tremendous. Without Sakakawea, there would have been no Lewis and Clark military expedition. 'Reunion' will pay tribute to her life, and you will hear from her descendants," Hall said.