Historic sites may display images or stories of tragedy and bravery in battle. Others bring to life accounts of flourishing Mandan and Hidatsa trading centers centuries prior to statehood. The Former Governors’ Mansion State Historic Site offers glimpses of life in the capital city for North Dakota’s first families of decades past, including times of celebration and song.

We can’t be certain which songs were sung around the fireplace or which Beethoven pieces may have been played on the 1910 Steinway in the parlor — but we do know that music filled the home on many occasions between 1893 and 1960 when governors and their families lived there.

For the past several years, we have incorporated live music or sing-alongs in most events, and for some events music is the main attraction. “Watermelon and Folk Songs” on Independence Day, “Labor Day Folk Songs,” and “Memorial Day Poetry and Music” commemorate special days with an assortment of songs sung by staff and visitors. These programs draw good-sized crowds eager to participate in a community sing-along.

As both an educator and a professional musician, I am grateful for the opportunity to develop these programs. It would be easy to sing only songs that I know, but offering a presentation that more accurately reflects the history of the Mansion requires much research — and rehearsal! To begin planning, I research American songs that were popular between the late 1800s and 1960, depending on our theme. Although YouTube is a fantastic resource, it’s not necessarily accurate, so I search for information from sources such as the Smithsonian Institution or academic libraries around the country. I also need to be certain that I understand the topic; many song lyrics are filled with sarcasm and double meanings, so it’s important to check the background of the lyrics before presenting them to the public at a state historic site!

After song selection, I learn the melody and the chords for guitar, ukulele, or piano. Luckily for me, Site Supervisor Johnathan Campbell understands that if I’m quietly singing in a back room between greeting visitors, I’m actually making sure I’m prepared to lead a publicized event for people who come specifically to the Mansion on Independence Day or another holiday.

On the day of the event, visitors sing using handouts or lyrics projected onto a screen — after all, participation is the main reason people come to music events. In fact, visitors have asked us to host more regular folk song sing-alongs.

Our Independence Day program is festive, often featuring shakers and percussion or a special appearance by Uncle Sam (Gary Miller) singing and playing banjo. The Memorial Day poetry and music event is much more reverent and subdued, with an opportunity for guests to share a story of a friend or family member who served in the military. One of my favorite events, it tends to be filled with heartfelt remembrances and a sense of community as we listen to each other’s stories.

Years ago, children played at the Mansion and on the grounds. We’ve hosted thousands of children for “Fun Friday,” “Birds, Bugs, and Slugs,” “Dinosaur Day,” and other programs with music. Our Flag Day parade, which travels around the Mansion block and is led by children waving handmade flags and playing drums or blowing horns, has been a newspaper photo favorite for the bright colors and lively participants.

Adding music to events may be seen as simply a “little extra something” for our visitors, but we’ve found that by adding carefully selected songs, we can offer an engaging, one-of-a-kind experience that holds a special place in the memories of Former Governors’ Mansion visitors. They often return year after year.

Sometimes the curious, behind-the-scenes stories of museum artifacts are as intriguing as the actual pieces. In the little-known story of a painting of Hunkpapa Lakota leader Sitting Bull hanging in the State Museum, the art, the subject, and the artist all share remarkable roles.

Sitting Bull portrait by Caroline Weldon 1890 (SHSND 12319)

I’ve walked past this 1890 oil painting of Sitting Bull, or Tatanka Iyotanke, hundreds of times during my museum career. I’ve squinted behind the glass case at the amateur painting and the scrawled signature of “C. S. Weldon” with no recognition. It wasn’t until artist Caroline Weldon (December 4, 1844–March 15, 1921) became the celebrated protagonist of the 2018 motion picture Woman Walks Ahead that I—and many of our museum visitors—learned the fascinating story of this unusual woman’s courage and determination.

Woman Walks Ahead is loosely based on Weldon’s life from 1889 to 1891, when she traveled twice from her East Coast home to Standing Rock Indian Reservation as an activist to help Sitting Bull and additional tribes resist US government proposals to break treaties. Her lifelong fascination with Native American culture had begun in her teen years, and her passion for Indigenous justice led her to later join the National Indian Defense Association. As a single woman in her forties, she traveled to meet Sitting Bull at Standing Rock Indian Reservation, which crossed the borders of North Dakota and South Dakota.

Breakup of the Great Sioux Reservation, North Dakota Studies (ndstudies.gov)

When she arrived, Weldon served in unofficial capacities as Sitting Bull’s translator and lobbyist, and even lived in his household for a time. An amateur artist, she also painted up to four portraits of Sitting Bull. Her life choices were rare both in terms of 19th-century activism and for a single woman in the Victorian era, and the tribe gave her the name “Woman Walking Ahead.”

Seated: Caroline Weldon, later in life (SHSND 21405 00002)

Not everyone appreciated Weldon’s efforts. Her unconventional Indigenous rights campaign as a single, white, outspoken woman of the late 1800s created a national stir. Criticized by many, Weldon was unjustly vilified in headlines nationwide.

Weldon left the reservation just weeks before Sitting Bull’s death and became a footnote in history. Her painting was hanging in Sitting Bull’s cabin on Dec. 15, 1890. On that morning a gunfight broke out when Indian agency police came to arrest him, and Sitting Bull and others were killed. Shortly afterward, a police officer whose brother had just been killed smashed the painting with his rifle, tearing the canvas. US Cavalry officer Matthew F. Steele stopped further destruction, took the painting, and later purchased it from Sitting Bull’s widows for two dollars. ¹

The canvas was damaged when smashed by a rifle.

Steele’s purchase apparently went unnoticed. In a few scattered mentions about Weldon’s painting over the following decades, historians muse about this painting and her others as being missing. A 1964 article in The West refers to Weldon’s painting as “a picture, now lost, bearing the artist’s sketched initials in the bottom left corner.” ²

I can only guess that State Historical Society staff must have been unaware of the handful of historians still speculating about the painting’s whereabouts, because Weldon’s canvas, with a crudely repaired tear and a replaced frame, had been gifted to the State Historical Society by the Matthew F. Steele estate in November 1953. In a North Dakota History article of 1984, a staff member wrote about the Steele donation: “The location of the only one of Weldon’s Sitting Bull portraits is now known.” ³

Our Caroline Weldon painting can be viewed on exhibit at the State Museum, and a second Weldon painting of Sitting Bull is housed at The Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock.

Sitting Bull by Caroline Weldon, 1890, oil on canvas. From the Permanent Collection of the Historic Arkansas Museum, Little Rock, Arkansas

Woman Walks Ahead mentions our State Museum as the location of a Weldon painting, which created a flurry of national interest in her work. We’ve enjoyed welcoming visitors from across the country who have come to view it since the film’s release.

After watching Woman Walks Ahead with their dad, these two Florida girls requested a family vacation to North Dakota to view Caroline Weldon’s Sitting Bull painting. The family made the trip a few months ago.

It’s fitting that this misunderstood woman, lost in history, is finally having her day in the sun. Caroline Weldon is worth remembering as a courageous activist who sought to build cross-cultural friendships and implement positive national changes while knowing her actions would rankle some and infuriate others. I’m enjoying seeing the increased visitor traffic to respectfully view Weldon’s special painting and learn more about a controversial time in our nation’s history. And I’ve gained a deeper appreciation, not only of a piece of art, but of the remarkable artist behind the story.

* Based on continuing public inquiries since this article first appeared, I’m adding information about why I included Weldon’s first name as Caroline and not “Catherine.” The “Woman Walks Ahead” film and plenty of other works refer to her as Catherine. Weldon’s first name, however, is Caroline. History misidentified her as “Catherine” for decades. How did that happen? As a starting point, little-known Caroline signed her Sitting Bull paintings as “C. Weldon,” so her first name is not identified. In addition, years after her death, prolific author Stanley Vestal misidentified Caroline as “Catherine” in his 1932 biography of Sitting Bull. Vestal’s book has widely served as a primary resource for historians, writers, and others. Only a few years ago Caroline’s true identity was discovered.

¹ “Catherine Weldon, Sitting Bull,” North Dakota History 72, nos. 3 & 4 (2005): 12.
² “Was Mrs. Weldon Sitting Bull’s White Squaw?,” The West, October 1964, 67.
³ Robert C. Hollow, “Portrait of Sitting Bull by Caroline Weldon,” North Dakota History 51, no. 2 (Spring 1984): back cover.