BISMARCK, N.D. – The 10-day Lewis and Clark “signature” event here in October 2004 will be a $1.1 million affair with a virtual village that organizers hope will lead thousands of visitors to learn about North Dakota’s past.

“We’re celebrating our heritage,” said Tracy Potter, director of the Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation. “But we want to do it in a way that leaves visitors saying, ‘North Dakota can put on quite a party in the 21st century.”‘

The event, scheduled for Oct. 22-31, 2004, will be based at the University of Mary and will include earth lodge replicas on the campus south of Bismarck as well as American Indian artists and performers, presentations by historians, and a computer-generated recreation of the On-A-Slant Village at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park.

The virtual village, which will be set up in a viewing room with a large screen, is being created by North Dakota State University’s Archaeology Technology Laboratories.

“We want to show (visitors) both our technology and our hospitality,” Potter said.

States are holding signature events through 2006, during the nation’s 200th anniversary celebration of the expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to the Pacific Northwest.

The events are designated by the National Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial, and each has a theme. Potter said the “Circle of Cultures” event in Bismarck will not have the explorers as its main focus.

“The concept of this event is to turn 180 degrees the view of the Lewis and Clark expedition,” Potter said. “We are not celebrating the Corps of Discovery coming to North Dakota. What we are doing is celebrating the cultures that met them when they got here.”

Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1804-05 at Fort Mandan near present-day Washburn as they explored the Louisiana Purchase at the request of President Thomas Jefferson.

“We see them as the foreigners that are entering our land, North Dakota, and we want to showcase the vibrant and complex culture that was here 200 years ago,” Potter said.

North Dakota also has a signature event in New Town in August 2006 that will focus on the Indian guide Sacagawea, who joined Lewis and Clark in North Dakota.

The Three Affiliated Tribes – the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation of North Dakota – will all take part in the Bismarck event. American Indian dancers, drummers and other artists are among those who will participate.

If You Go…

CIRCLE OF CULTURES: Scheduled for Oct. 22-31, 2004. It will be based at the University of Mary, south of Bismarck. Visit www.circleofcultures .com for details, or call the Bismarck/Mandan Convention & Visitors Bureau at (800) 767-3555 for more information or help with lodging.

EARTH LODGE REPLICAS: Several replicas of the earth lodges used by Mandan Indians for shelter will be built on the University of Mary campus. They will be similar to the replicas at the On-A-Slant Village at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, southeast of the city of Mandan.

VIRTUAL VILLAGE: The $150,000 computer-generated re-creation of the On-A-Slant Village is being done by North Dakota State University’s Archaeology Technology Laboratories. It will be shown on a large screen in a viewing room set up on campus.

SPEAKERS AND RE-ENACTORS: Speakers and historians will give presentations or portray members of the expedition. They include Gerard Baker, superintendent of the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail; Amy Mossett, Three Affiliated Tribes tourism director; and Clay Jenkinson, historian and public radio personality.

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT: American Indian drum groups, dancers and other performers will entertain throughout the 10 days. Work done by North Dakota artists relating to the Lewis and Clark journals will be on exhibit.