For more than 30 years I’ve used American Indian tipis as a tool to help students of all ages better appreciate the sophistication of the cultures that lived on the northern plains.

I have set up tipis in schoolyards, at Boy Scout camporees, on state and national historic sites, in public and private spaces, and in museums in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia, and across North Dakota.

I’ve even helped staff understand the process of taking a buffalo hide tipi down as we de-installed the Main Gallery of the Heritage Center in 2013.

When I present a program about the building of a tipi, it usually is a hands-on learning experience. I carry on a conversation with the audience. I ask for their assistance with identifying poles, bringing them to me, and (with my direction) figuring out where to place them.

We tie the poles together, raise and fasten the cover, and then enter the tipi. There is always a sense of awe when one enters a tipi for the first time and raises one’s eyes to the sky.

The tipi is a dwelling created by stretching a cover of canvas or tanned bison hides over a framework of straight wooden poles. The poles are tied together in a specific pattern around a foundation made of three or four poles, depending upon tribal practices. The general form of the tipi is conical. Although the top of the cone of the tipi may be 16 or 18 feet off the ground, erecting it is a relatively easy process.

At the top there is an opening through which rising smoke from a small central fire can escape. Extensions in the cover on either side of this opening can be adjusted depending upon wind direction, creating a relatively pleasant environment inside the structure.

Doug Wurtz, a volunteer with the State Historical Society, has helped me several times as I’ve given tipi raising programs for students or the public. As Doug became more interested, he began to experiment with a 1-inch=1-foot scale model of a tipi. As Doug’s models got more sophisticated, he became interested in the physics and the aerodynamics of the tipi. This led Doug to create a kit called “Tipi in a Box” which has since developed into a prototype that could be used by a classroom teacher to offer learning to their students about the tipi. As Doug and I evaluated the “Tipi in a Box” project, we became aware that teachers would have difficulty using the kit without a narrative to direct them.

Doug and I began the process of developing the narrative by videotaping me describing the kit and its intended use. During that taping we realized that some of the detail, such as how the knots are tied, would be lost without additional video.

Although this project is still a work in progress, Doug and I have learned many lessons related to building a quality educational product. We look forward to continuing this and additional projects that can provide insights into the technologies and lifeways of native peoples.

The Museum Division of the State Historical Society is offered everything from political buttons to cook cars. The Museum Collections Committee needs to be very selective about what is accepted, since we simply do not have the storage space for everything offered to us, especially large items like pianos and buggies. Here are a few items we have recently accepted into our collection.

1. 2014.00112.00001
Meiers, Vivian
School bell

A school bell is an excellent example of what we normally would not accept due to the size and weight, and the fact that we have examples already. When one was offered from the inundated town of Sanish, however, we could not resist because so much of the town’s history was lost. Sanish was a small western town until 1953, when the completion of the Garrison Dam flooded the town. Before the flood, the donor's father Glen Nelson worked with two others to disassemble the Sanish School House. They took the bricks and the school bell. They remounted the school bell in an enclosed stone structure on the Nelson property from 1953 until just before its donation to the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

Left: Sanish school bell (2014.00112.00001)
Right: State Historical Society of North Dakota (11140-686)

2. 2014.00118
Whittier, Rick
Spear Fishing Decoys

Rick started making spear fishing decoys shortly after moving to North Dakota in October of 2004. He has progressed to the point of making a full time occupation out of creating these beautiful decoys. Rick has had an exclusive exhibit in the ND Governor's Office, has been awarded MN Carver of the Year and is the 2nd and 3rd place World Points Champion of the National Fish Decoy Association. He has also been featured in the Fargo Forum, Green Sheet, the Wahpeton Daily News, and the Minot Daily News. Rick has also been featured on a number of radio programs throughout North Dakota. In January, 2014, Ron Schara Productions came to his shop and filmed for two days, making three different television programs: Due North Outdoors, Backroads with Ron and Raven and Minnesota Bound, all of which aired in the fall of 2014. Rick works with the North Dakota Council on the Arts as a Master Artist. He instructs apprentices and also holds programs for the Assisted living residents here in ND as well as attending trade shows with the Pride of Dakota.

Fish Decoy in various phases. (2014.00118)

3. 2015.00017.00001
Solheim, Audrey
Psalmodikon

The Psalmodikon is a single stringed musical instrument developed in Scandinavia for simplifying music in churches and schools and providing an alternative to the fiddle for sacred music. The instrument could be plucked or bowed. Beginning in the early 19th century it was adopted by many rural churches in Scandinavia, and later immigrants brought the instrument to the United States. As churches raised money to purchase organs, psalmodikons decreased in popularity.

Psalmodikon and bow (2015.00017.00001)

What is a faunal comparative collection? A faunal comparative collection consists of modern animal skeletons which may help with identification of bone fragments found at archaeology sites. The Archaeology and Historic Preservation of the State Historical Society of North Dakota (SHSND) houses such a collection.

How do we acquire intact animal skeletons? Museums may purchase them from retailers specializing in processing natural skeletons and creating replicas. Or, skeletal remains may be collected and/or donated. If collected, processing and cleaning are often necessary. These tasks may be done manually but can be tedious and smelly work. A way around this is to use a dermestid beetle colony. One species of dermestid beetle, Dermestes maculatus, has been used for over 150 years by museums, universities, and taxidermists to clean skeletal material. Many museums, including the SHSND, do not maintain a colony for fear that the beetles may escape and destroy certain types of artifacts. So, we outsource the work. When the processing and cleaning are complete, the skeletal elements are added to our comparative collection.

There are more species of insects in the Animal Kingdom than any other group, and within the insects there are more species of beetles than any other group of insects. Within the beetles is a family known as Dermestidae, commonly called skin, hide, or larder beetles, with several hundred species. One species of dermestid beetle, Dermestes maculatus, has been used to clean animal bones in our collection.

The larvae and adults of these carrion beetles will feed on the muscle, fat, tendons, etc. and leave the bones and teeth clean of soft tissues. Cartilage may or may not be consumed by the beetles depending upon how soft the cartilage is and how hungry the beetles are. Dermestid beetles do not feed on live tissue; therefore, live larvae and adults can be handled without concern of being bitten.

A dermestid beetle on a newly cleaned skull.

Female adult dermestid beetles lay several hundred eggs which hatch after about a week into tiny larvae. The larvae are covered externally by a relatively hard exoskeleton, and as they grow the larvae must emerge from this exoskeleton a number of times (5-11) to continue their development. Each one of these larval stages is called an instar. During this larval growth, the larvae increase in size from about 1/16 inch (1.5 mm) to about ½ inch (12 mm). The smallest instars are able to get into tiny spaces, for example, those in a mouse head, and eat the soft tissues within these areas. At the end of the last larval instar, the larvae form a pupa. After a period of time allowing for metamorphosis, an adult beetle emerges from the pupa. Adults are about 3/8 inches (8-10 mm) in length. The female will breed, lay eggs, and thus start a new generation of beetles. Adults live about 4 months.

SHSND archaeologists have partnered with a retired professor of a regional university who has access to a dermestid colony. For four decades the colony has cleaned specimens to be used for education and research. These dermestids have cleaned several specimens for us including a grizzly bear, a mountain lion, an otter, and a marten.

A dermestid beetle colony.

Guest Blogger: Amy Bleier

Amy Bleier is a Research Archaeologist in the Archaeology and Historic Preservation Division. One of Amy’s tasks is to assist with the production of the North Dakota Archaeology Awareness poster.

In December of 2014, I had the opportunity to write a guest blog for the State Historical Society. In that blog, I mentioned the volunteers and archaeology enthusiasts (like me) who gather at the ND Heritage Center archaeology lab on Wednesday afternoons to sort and quantify artifacts.

Sorting crew in the Heritage Center archaeology lab.

A question that volunteers ask from time to time regards the importance placed on their activities and what happens to the sorted and quantified artifacts when they are done. I worked on a major sorting project during winter 2006-2007 and pondered those very questions. I would like to give a personal example of what happens to the sorted material.

During summer 2006, a major (actually “world-class”) archaeological project was conducted at a site called Beacon Island in northwestern North Dakota. PaleoCultural Research Group was the lead institution for the research project, and the field director originally from France. Other team members were from Germany, Florida, the University of Chicago, archaeologists from the State Historical Society of North Dakota, and others. I was fortunate enough to participate in one of the four nine-day sessions.

The 2006 archaeological project at Beacon Island, North Dakota.

When the excavation was completed in August 2006, all of the artifacts recovered, as well as the water screened debris, were transferred to the State Historical Society. The winter of 2006-2007 was spent sorting and quantifying that “debris.”

“Debris” sounds like something that is quickly discarded. That is far from the truth. When we finished each small part of the large project, our sorting trays would hold neat piles of bone fragments, stone flaking debris, fire-cracked rock, small aquatic shells, charcoal fragments, and other material. Upon completion of the sorting project, all of the neat, distinct piles were consolidated and sent off to the experts who specialize in the analysis of bone, shell, stone, charcoal, and other materials.

The final report was delivered in August 2012. The report, titled “Agate Basin Archaeology at Beacon Island, North Dakota,” was edited by Dr. Mark D. Mitchell of the PaleoCultural Research Group of Denver, Colorado. The 277-page report details every aspect of that world- class project.

To summarize the report:

In early to mid-winter of a day ca. 12,000 years before the present time, a group of PaleoIndians (ancestors to modern Native Americans) surrounded a small kettle basin in what is now northwestern North Dakota. That day, they killed and butchered at least 29 Bison antiquus, ancestors to the modern species of bison. After the kill, they butchered the animals, preparing some of the forelimbs and hind limbs for transport to a secondary processing camp. At the same time, they refurbished some of their stone tools. Fires were built to prepare some of the bison meat for consumption at the site. They then departed the area.

How can archaeologists determine:

1. The event happened 12,000 years ago at this location?
2. The event happened in early to mid-winter?
3. They gathered at a small kettle basin?
4. They killed 29 animals (a pretty precise number)?
5. They took the time to refurbish their stone tools?
6. They made a meal of the bison while still at the site?

Space on this blog will not permit detailed answers to these and many other questions.

You can, however, find the answers to these questions at the ND Heritage Center & State Museum. A prominent display in the Innovation Gallery: Early Peoples is devoted to Beacon Island; it features a Bison antiquus skeleton, artifacts recovered from the site, and a large, detailed painting of the site.

Beacon Island exhibit at the ND Heritage Center & State Museum

So, back to the original question - why is the work of the volunteers in the archaeology lab important? Because without their painstaking work, the small pieces to a very large mystery could not be assembled. By combining the detailed information obtained from sorting and quantifying the “debris” with the larger artifacts obtained from the site, the story can be reconstructed by archaeology professionals, and an exhibit can be created depicting that event.

Visit the Beacon Island exhibit at the ND Heritage Center & State Museum to discover the answers to a 12,000-year-old mystery!

The expansion of the North Dakota Heritage Center was a major investment in the preservation of the state’s history. From state-of-the-art storage areas to new State Museum galleries, we were given the tools needed to protect and present North Dakota’s story for decades to come. I’d like to share with you one way we’re using the expansion to safeguard those stories.

North Dakota’s native people have always played an important role in the state's history, and the State Museum’s collection reflects that. Some of the earliest pieces we collected back in the early twentieth century were Native American in origin, and it is something that we have continued to build upon ever since.

During our recent expansion project, it was decided that the Native American collection would be the primary focus of our new, 5,000-square-foot collection storage area. The new space is a big improvement for the collection, because it went from occupying three rows of storage to 21, plus a restricted access room specifically created to house more significant or sensitive items. With more room and improved shelving, we can better care for and continue to expand on an already exemplary collection.

A panorama of our new collection storage room, which is initially committed to the Native American collection. In this image you can see that much of our new area contains compact, moveable shelving. Rows are accessed by rotating the black handles you see on the side of each unit, which causes the shelves to move along the tracks in the floor. That allows us to fit more rows of storage in the room than if they were stationary.

In October 2013, I started planning a basic layout for the new area and figuring out the scope of the project. After a few weeks of preparation, I began the move of the Native American collection to the new space. With nearly 4,000 artifacts involved, it was a challenging project to organize and wrap my head around. That is especially true given all the different types of artifacts such as beaded moccasins, hide dresses, firearms, preserved food, and even a birch bark canoe, just to name a few, each of which have unique needs and preservation concerns.

The original shelving units for the collection were filled many years ago and space was limited. This was our chance to store the collection exactly how we wanted it, and much thought was put into what we would do. We decided to arrange the new storage area into sections divided by type of artifact and also separated out by tribe within each section. That allows us to easily compare the differences between say, Sioux and Chippewa pipe bags. With similar objects grouped together, the layout also makes artifacts easier to find.

Left: Here you can see one of our enclosed cabinets, which are ideal for objects such as clothing. Notice the gaskets around the doorframe. With these seals in place, the environmental conditions inside each cabinet are very stable. Also notice the labels on each shelf with tribe names. I organized the storage area by type of object, separated by tribe. That arrangement allows us to easily compare objects created by different tribes.
Right: A row of open shelving, which happens to contain various types of bags, pouches, and other containers.

I have spent the last 18 months moving the collection over to the new area, cartload by cartload. As of this writing, I have about 22 artifacts left to move. There is more work to be done in the space, but phase one is nearly complete!

When presenting the history of our historic sites, it can be difficult to cover everything that happened over the course of the site. Oftentimes significant events that occurred in the last 50 years or less get reduced to a couple words at the end of an interpretive sign that discusses a longer, older history. The Former Governors’ Mansion State Historic Site was built in 1884 for Bismarck Businessman Asa Fisher, who sold the building to the state in 1893 for use as the executive mansion. The interpretive history displayed at the site focuses on the years from 1893 to 1960, when it was occupied by 20 different governors and their families. If the Former Governors’ Mansion was opening as a historic site today, would the introduction to the history of the building be written differently? What if?

The North Dakota Psychiatric Clinic

In the post-World War II United States, a movement was gaining ground to end the incarceration of the mentally ill in state psychiatric hospitals. In 1946 President Harry Truman passed the National Mental Health Act, which paved the way for states to find ways to help the mentally ill cope, recover, and live positive lives.

The state of North Dakota was a progressive leader in the development of ways to help the mentally ill beyond locking them away for their own safety and that of the community. Legislative action in the 1950s led to the development of outpatient care at the State Hospital in Jamestown and to the opening of the State Psychiatric Clinic in Bismarck in 1960.

The clinic opened in the recently vacated Executive Mansion at 320 East Ave. B. Located in the heart of the residential section of Bismarck, the residence was an ideal, friendly, home-like environment to help those in need.

In 1963 the clinic was part of a national pilot program to develop standards of care and treatment for mental illnesses under President John Kennedy’s Community Mental Health Act., which officially ended the practice of incarcerating the mentally ill without due cause in the United States.

Oral histories collected from many of the professionals that worked at the clinic through-out the ‘60s show that the care provided at the clinic was one of a nurturing, respectable nature every bit as modern in its approach as today’s widely available talk therapy. While it varied over the course of the decade, the clinic generally had two psychiatrists, a psychologist, a couple of social workers, and support staff.

SHSND Superintendent James Sperry exposing the plywood separating the psychiatrist offices. (SHSND0071-009)

Those who utilized the clinic were not limited to what we would consider classic mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia), but what we would consider by modern standards to be general mental health. Common clientele would have included couples seeking marriage counseling, addiction counseling, children with behavioral issues, speech therapy, and developmental disabilities, etc. While many of the people at the clinic were voluntarily seeking help, many of them were court ordered to receive treatment. Prison inmates and children involved in delinquency cases were commonly evaluated for signs of mental illness and provided with treatment options.

In 1966 the clinic became one of eight state-run mental health clinics in North Dakota. To this day those eight clinics continue to serve the people of North Dakota’s mental health needs. In 1972 the clinic moved to the Liberty Memorial Building in downtown Bismarck. The Former Governors’ Mansion was then occupied by the Department of Health Administration offices until 1975, when the building was turned over to the State Historical Society of North Dakota as a state historic site, which now highlights the years it served as the Governors’ Mansion.

State Health Department Administration Office Building, circa 1975. (BPL41_12072007)

When visiting the Former Governors’ Mansion State Historic Site, or any historic site for that matter, keep in mind the history you see presented may be incomplete.The name of the site may only be an introduction to part of a longer history.

Guest Blogger: Johnathan Campbell

Johnathan Campbell has been around the SHSND for around a quarter of a century. He has been the site supervisor for both the Former Governors’ Mansion, and Camp Hancock State Historic Sites for over a decade, and previous to that was the fossil preparator for the North Dakota State Fossil collection.