Dan’s Destinations - New Town

Last week Dan Erdmann didn t have to go far to find an affordable day out at the fair This time he s back on the road to show us another cheap nearby attraction in this weeks Dan s Destinations Dan Erdmann KX News Today s destination lies just west of New Town It s the Three Affiliated Tribes Museum and reconstructed earth lodge village Right now we re going to go inside and talk to our friend Marilyn who s going to tell us a little more Marilyn Hudson Museum Administrator The museum offers a lot of information artifacts bits of history of the history and culture of the Three Affiliated Tribes And the Three Affiliated Tribes are the Mandan Hidatsa and the Arikara people Dan Erdmann KX News The museum officially opened in 1964 and what makes it so impressive is the fact that everything you see has been donated The building itself was even a donation from a generous Arikara woman Over the past 44 years there have been many changes to the museum and Marilyn says they re constantly looking for ways to improve their facilities Marilyn Hudson Museum Administrator As you know most museums have a reputation of being a rather old place were there are just dusty relics sitting on a shelf So we try to keep pace with the progression of our tribes as well Dan Erdmann KX News And one way they ve done that is by constructing a replica of an earth lodge village Earth lodges were very important for survival of the three tribes during the harsh winter months but they re also unique in how they re built Marilyn Hudson Museum Administrator They were constructed entirely by balance so it s a system of balance in keeping this very large round structure in place for probably 10-15 years What you see at the new earth lodge village up there is certainly not going to be in any sense exactly a replica of those original villages They re going to be like I say 21st century improved Dan Erdmann KX News Obviously authentic earth lodges didn t have things like electrical lighting but these replicas still give a good impression of what tribal life would ve been like over 200 years ago And really that s the purpose of these structures To move toward the future while always honoring the past Near New Town Dan Erdmann KX News While traveling to and from his destination Dan drove 160 miles using 3 dollar and 89 cent gas at 20 miles per gallon Admission to the Three Affiliated Tribes museum is 3 dollars per person and Dan didn t spend any money at 4 Bears Casino so total cost of this trip is around 37 12 There will also be a grand opening ceremony held at the Earth Lodge Village 4 miles west of New Town on August 5th starting at 9 00 am