May 13, 2019

Public Invited to Pioneer Monuments Program at North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum

BISMARCK, N.D.–The public is invited to the free program, "Myth and Memory in Western Pioneer Monuments,” at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 19, at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum in Bismarck. Presented by Cynthia Culver Prescott, associate professor of history at the University of North Dakota, the program will include a guided tour of the public statues on the state Capitol grounds.
 
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, communities throughout the United States erected commemorative monuments to their white forebears sculpted by prominent artists. Prescott will discuss the ways that monument designs and public reception of pioneer statues has changed over the past 125 years and how continued public interest in honoring white pioneers shows the importance of the frontier myth in the minds of many Americans.
 
Prescott is the author of "Pioneer Mother Monuments: Constructing Cultural Memory" and "Gender and Generation on the Far Western Frontier." A book signing will follow the presentation, and books will be available for purchase.

This program is part of the State Historical Society of North Dakota's Sensational Sundays series. Sensational Sundays are free cultural programs that include a variety of lectures, concerts, movies, and tours. For more information, contact Curator of Education Erik Holland at 701.328.2792.
 
The North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum, managed by the State Historical Society of North Dakota, is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. For information about additional upcoming events, visit history.nd.gov/events.

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CONTACT
Erik Holland, 701.328.2792

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