The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site speaker series will continue May 9 with a free presentation by Loren Yellow Bird, Sr., entitled“A Warriors Tale: Repairing and Reviving the Language and Identity of the Arikara Tribe on the Northern Plains.”

The program will explain how the pressure of assimilation nearly destroyed the Arikara language and cultural identity, as well as how the Arikara people have revitalized and are preserving their culture.

Mr. Yellow Bird is a member of the Sahnish Arikara Nation from North Dakota. He is a noted Arikara traditionalist, historian, and received his Bachelor’s degree in History and Anthropology from North Dakota State University. He was also a recipient of the North Dakota Apprenticeship Grant to learn and study traditional stories and songs with Sahnish elders. A Veteran of the United States Navy, Loren Yellow Bird is currently a National Park Service Park Ranger serving at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site, North Dakota.

The presentation will take place May 9 at the Crow-Luther Cultural Events Center, located on Maine Street in Eads. The program begins at 6:00 p.m.
Yellow Bird’s presentation is part of an education series, hosted by Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, on Native and Non-Native American perspectives of history. This series of speakers/educators is being scheduled throughout 2019 to present sessions that will address American history, tribal histories, and American Indian Law.