Sure, a colleague said, sounds good. I am not encouraging non-Natives to attend Sundances or Sacred Sweats. I am suggesting perhaps piggy-backing on the Lewis and Clark Centennial Celebration. A path or journey could be developed whereby visitors might travel through the five reservations. It could be a journey not unlike the one Lewis and Clark took into the Native land many years ago.
Events can showcase the culture of the first people of North Dakota.
The events could be done without any ceremony and marketed as a time for non-Natives to learn about the dances, drumming and people, and to participate in Native culture. It could be an opportunity to fill the motels and restaurants near each of these areas. That is just one suggestion for bridging the relationships between the two cultures, but I think it could be the beginning of a way in which the economy of both the tribal nations and the state could grow. 2001 Grand Forks Herald. All rights reserved.