Encounter Center Nov. 19 program to focus on Missouri River’s cultural and spiritual significance to the Omaha People

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Nov. 7, 2017) – The Betty Strong Encounter Center will host “The Spiritual and Cultural Significance of the Missouri River to the Omaha People,” an illustrated program by Marisa Cummings (Miakonda), at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19. Admission will be free; a reception will follow.

     Cummings is a member of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska and Iowa, and the TeSinde, or Buffalo Tail Clan, of the Sky People. Her presentation will focus on the impact of the Pick-Sloan Plan on the Omaha People.
Congress passed the Pick-Sloan Plan for Missouri River Development in 1944. The legislation authorized construction of dams at Garrison in North Dakota; and Oahe, Big Bend, Fort Randall, and Gavin’s Point in South Dakota.

“It is my hope that at the end of the presentation, the community will have a better understanding of the sacred significance of the Missouri River to indigenous populations and understand the impact of federal Indian policy on Native Americans economic, spiritual and physical well being,” says Cummings who has worked extensively in cultural resource and sacred-site protection in Iowa and South Dakota. She’s collected written historical documentation and oral tradition to tell the story of her people and their connection to the natural world.

Cummings has a Bachelor’s in American Studies and a Certificate in American Indian/Native Studies from University of Iowa. She is Project Coordinator for a grant through the Office of Violence Against Women at University of South Dakota.

She has served as Chief Tribal Officer for the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska. She also has served her people in higher education as an administrator for Little Priest Tribal College and through the Center for Diversity & Enrichment at the University of Iowa.

  The Betty Strong Encounter Center and adjoining Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center comprise a private, non-profit cultural complex built and sustained by Missouri River Historical Development, Inc. (MRHD). It is located on the Missouri Riverfront, exit 149 off I-29. Admission is free. For more information visit www.siouxcitylcic.com or call 712-224-5242. Find the Center on Facebook: www.facebook.com/sclandc