‘Lewis & Clark and the Indian Country’ opens June 29

      (June 19, 2008) – “Lewis and Clark and the Indian Country,” a 1,000-square-foot traveling exhibit, opens at noon Sunday, June 29 at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center on the Missouri Riverfront. Admission is free.

     “Lewis and Clark and the Indian Country” is based on a major exhibition of the same name created by The Newberry Library in Chicago. It tells the story of the explorers’ 1804–1806 expedition from a different point of view - that of Indians who lived along the route.

     The Center is one of 27 sites in the nation selected for the exhibition which will run through Aug. 8. It is presented in cooperation with Briar Cliff University’s Bishop Mueller Library.

     During their journey to the Pacific Coast and back, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and their small group of voyagers crossed traditional homelands of more than 50 Native tribes. “Lewis and Clark and the Indian Country” examines these encounters of cultures. It also considers past and present effects on the lives of Native people still living in those regions.

     “This exhibition brings into focus one of many strands in our ongoing history of encounters,” says the Rev. Raymond Bucko, S.J., the Center’s cultural outreach advisor and director of Native American Studies at Creighton University. “It provides valuable information and lessons as we strive to meet in peace and harmony.”

     Organized by the Newberry Library, in cooperation with the American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office, the exhibition is made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).  Additional support came from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Sara Lee Foundation is the lead corporate sponsor; Ruth C. Ruggles and the National Park Service also supported the exhibit.

     “Lewis & Clark and the Indian Country” draws from original documents in Native American collections of the Newberry Library; the Washington State Historical Society; Minnesota Historical Society and other institutions. Photographs of handwritten documents, maps, paintings and drawings provide a colorful background for the story of encounters.

     The Blackfeet, Nez Perce, Umatilla, Mandan and Walla Walla are among the nations encountered by Lewis and Clark who continue to live in the same areas but on greatly reduced tribal lands. These tribes are committed to carrying on lifeways and values of their ancient cultures, and to preserving their languages and traditions. “We are still here,” they often say.

     “For our Center, the exhibition supports the position that Lewis & Clark history does not end with the Corps of Discovery’s return to St. Louis in September 1806. It encourages us to continue to seek deeper understanding of what it means to live together,” says Marcia Poole, director of the Center.

     The Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center is connected to the Betty Strong Encounter Center on Missouri Riverfront, exit 149, off I-29. The Center is a private, non-profit institution, built and sustained by Missouri River Historical Development, Inc. The Center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday; closed Mondays. For more information, visit www.siouxcitylcic.com or call 712-224-5242.

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