The fate of the Standing Rock Natural History Museum and how we could help it reopen

[Joseph Fossil]

During a recent visit on April 25th, 2023 to the Field Museum, one of the best museums in all of Chicago, I stopped by the new Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories exhibit. I must say, it's a pretty good exhibit (perhaps my third favorite exhibit, only behind the Hall of Conservation and (one of the Museums's best and most accurate exhibits) the Evolving Planet)!!!  The Native Truths exhibit shows and talks about the struggles and triumphs of the many Native American Nations from their origins to the modern day in blunt and extremely accurate ways.

 

But there was one part of the exhibit that somewhat surprised me. 

 

It's a display case with several Late Cretaceous fossils from North and South Dakota alongside an interactive pad that talked about how the specimens were originally held by the Standing Rock Institute of Natural History. 

 

 

 

 

I'd never heard of the Standing Rock Institute of Natural History before. I was immediately intrigued but saddened to hear it closed due to lack of funding. I researched it a bit more and discovered it's located in Fort Yates, North Dakota. It's website is also apparently still up.

 

https://srinstituteofnaturalhistory.com

 

The museum was located in the heart of the Standing Rocks Reservation, home to the Hunkpapa, Sihasapa, Ihanktonwona, and Pabaksa bands of the Great Sioux Native American Nation. The Reservation itself is the result of the U.S. Government's continual and illicit breaking of Treaties with the regions Native American Tribes in order to grab as much of regions gold as possible in the 1870s-1890s. 

 

This is a very simplified explanation as to what happened as whole pages could be filled with with confirmed accounts of truly barbaric atrocities sections of the U.S. Government and the U.S. army inflicted on these Native American Nations at this period in time...something likely too graphic and horrifying to talk about on the forum. But I encourage you all to research it yourselves for if we don't learn or heed the lessons from history, we are doomed to repeat it. 

 

Anyways, from what could gather, the museum wasn't particularly large but still impressive in its own right. Opening in 2007, the Standing Rock Institute of Natural History is apparently the first tribal run museum to have it's own Paleontology Code of Ethics and at its height had 10,000 Paleontological specimens. I'm very sad to hear it closed due to lack of funding. 

 

 

[Joseph Fossil]

My first main questions for this topic are if anyone knows more about this museum, was it a popular museum in the area, what was it's Paleontological Code of Ethics, and why was there a lack of funding by 2019 for the museum?

 

 

[DPS Ammonite]

https://www.standingrock.org/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/Title XXXVIII - (38) Paleontology Resource Code.pdf

[Joseph Fossil]

My second main questions for this topic are if funding can be restored for the Standing Rock Institute of Natural History so it can reopen and if it could be rebuilt to be even larger? 

 

As it's an official partner to the awesome and prestigious Field Museum of Chicago, I see massive potential for the Standing Rock Institute of Natural History to become a truly incredible Museum...perhaps one of the Greatest Museums in all of North Dakota. If reopened, rebuilt to a size similar to something like the Field Museum, and powered with pretty green sources of power like Solar panels, it could generate greater paleontological interest in the area (already close to pretty incredible Late Cretaceous formations), generate great amounts of economic wealth that could help fund education, healthcare, and other essential services in the region, and educate a new generation about the wonders of Prehistory and life on earth!!

 

This is just a little idea of mine, but I feel it could bring massive amount of good to the region and something even the fossil forms could help fund! So what do you all think? How feasible, immediately, do you think this idea is? 

[Joseph Fossil]

10 minutes ago, DPS Ammonite said:

https://www.standingrock.org/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/Title XXXVIII - (38) Paleontology Resource Code.pdf

 

@DPS Ammonite Thanks dude!!!

[JohnJ]

I think the first thing you should consider is to get in touch with the previous individuals that operated the museum.  Gather their thoughts regarding future staffing and funding.  They know the issues and may have solutions you could 'plug' in to.

[Bobby Rico]

Here is story of a father and son team that volunteered at a museum and really made a difference. 
Abbey Pumping Station (or called the toilet museum) is a former sewage pumping station dating back to 1891, with four steam-powered beam engines that are still in working order today because they all was restored over 20 years by a father and son team before they came to the museum only one engine was just about working . Abbey Pumping Station is a wonderful museum that has a lot to thank its volunteers for . A difference was made by just two members of the public at this Leicestershire museum.

.

[minnbuckeye]

@Bobby Rico,looks like it is on the way to Whitby. And next to a space center! If only we had more time!!

 

Mike

[Bobby Rico]

53 minutes ago, minnbuckeye said:

@Bobby Rico,looks like it is on the way to Whitby. And next to a space center! If only we had more time!!

 

Mike

It about 2 miles from our house. It a cool little museum and the space centre fun but Wollaton Hall probably better bet as space centre always full of little kids.

[hadrosauridae]

My understanding of the Standing Rock museum was that it was never in a proper building to begin with, the building that was used, wasnt maintained and developed structural / roofing problems.  I don't think many people know (knew) about it because its in the middle of nowhere.  Thats a sparsely populated area and no major highways anywhere nearby.  The hardest challenge was that there didnt seem to be much interest in paleontology within the tribe.  I think if there was more education about what was on their land, what was literally crumbling to dust because its not being collected, they could probably train the next generation of tribal paleontologists.

[Fossildude19]

While it is good to bring attention to these types of issues, I think helping out this museum would be better handled by the tribes. 

If they should set up some fundraising, a global effort online would be of more use than our standard membership could provide.

Just my two cents.

[Houdek]

Greetings,

 

Emily Graslie's 'Prehisoric Road Trip' of the upper western plains (US) spent some time on the Standing Rock reservation in episode 3 (https://www.pbs.org/show/prehistoric-road-trip/    eg., see photo 1/14 of photos from the road trip) 

 

I haven't re-watched the episode, but it seemed like the museum or official collecting was still functioning at time of filming. I'm guessing the credits would have a lot of contact info.

 

I believe jpc also made a cameo in an episode...'turtle teeth'??

 

Cheers,