Spring is in sight, it’s almost here! Enjoy another escape to Custer State Park Saturday, March 18 at 1:00pm with Kelsey Bean. A graduate student in Native American Studies from Montana State University, Kelsey has worked at various Forest Service and Park Service sites throughout the west. She is a member of the Cherokee Nation with heritage in the Sac & Fox and Choctaw Nations of Oklahoma.
“Populations once ranged to several millions but by the 1890s less than a thousand remained in the United States. The American Bison has become the symbol of the American West and has a very unique history. This program will cover the cultural and natural history of North America’s largest land mammal the Bison.”
A park entrance license is required to enter the park and can be purchased at the Park Office during the week or at the Visitor Center. The Visitor Center, located at the intersection of Hwy 16A and Wildlife Loop Road, is open from 9:00am to 4:00pm but will be closed Friday, March 17.
Don’t forget to mark these dates on your calendar and watch for more details. We’ll be exploring what an Artifacts Road Show is on Saturday, April 15. Plus, celebrate Earth Day and build a bluebird box at the Bluebird Box Workshop, Saturday, April 22 at 10:00am and 2:00pm. Pre-registration is required for the Bluebird Box Workshop, please call the office at (605) 255-4515.
RAPID CITY, SD – The Journey Museum and Learning Center is excited to announce the next event in its Learning Forum Series set for Sunday, Feb. 12 titled ‘American Bison – A Survival Story’. Susan Ricci, museum director of the Museum of the American Bison, will take audience members through the incredible survival story of the buffalo, an animal that was once 60 million strong.
‘American Bison – A Survival Story’ will begin at 2 p.m. on Feb. 12 in The Journey’s Wells Fargo Theater. Susan Ricci, museum director of the Museum of the American Bison, will discuss the early decline of buffalo, its cultural significance to the tribes of North America, and the eventual restoration and efforts that saved the animal from extinction.
The buffalo once numbered almost 60 million strong across North America but by the end of the 1800s, there were less than 1000 buffalo left. Susan’s presentation will follow the early decline of the buffalo from the fur trade to its near extermination during western settlement. Susan will explore the cultural significance of the buffalo to the tribes of North America and the impact that the loss of these animals had on Native people. Susan will also discuss the eventual restoration of the buffalo and the efforts of a few men and women that saved this animal from extinction.
Susan Ricci developed the Museum of the American Bison, a museum dedicated to telling the story of the Plains bison from its prehistoric beginnings to its near extermination and subsequent restoration in North America. The museum is located at Crazy Horse Memorial Mountain.
Susan provides mobile bison museum presentations to schools in Montana and South Dakota and has been providing lectures on bison restoration and Native American buffalo culture at wildlife conferences and community events across the country for the past 15 years.
Susan received a Bachelor’s degree from Black Hills State University, where she majored in History and Sociology with a minor in American Indian Studies. She currently works as a grant writer at Crazy Horse.
Learning Forums are thought-provoking presentations on a wide variety of topics. Each program features a fortyfive minute presentation, followed by an open forum with questions and discussion about the topic.
Admission for Learning Forums is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, half-off for members, and a student is FREE with an accompanying paid adult/senior admission (includes museum).
The Journey Museum & Learning Center was established in 1997 and is conveniently located in downtown Rapid City at 222 New York St, 2 blocks east of the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center right across from the Club for Boys. Make sure to visit http://www.journeymuseum.org to find additional schedule information and be sure to ‘like’ us on Facebook!
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