Native Culture, Arts Highlight North Dakota Native Heritage Showcase

(Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – Through the arts, stories, music and dance, North Dakota’s Indigenous community shared its culture at the Capitol in Bismarck on Friday during Native American Heritage Month.

The North Dakota Native Heritage Showcase, sponsored by the state’s Indian Affairs Commission, featured about a dozen vendor tables at the Capitol with handmade jewelry, paintings, books and other items.

Brad Hawk, executive director of the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission, said the event is a way to showcase different Native cultures and give exposure to local nonprofit groups.

“It’s more than music. It’s more than regalia. We have different aspects of the culture in arts,” Hawk said. “It’s a communitywide event, a little bit for everybody, and that’s the way we set it up to be.”