The State Historical Society of North Dakota in partnership with Prairie Public Broadcasting of Fargo invites the public to a free viewing party for the premiere of "The American Buffalo," a new film directed by Ken Burns. The two-episode event will be Oct. 16 and 17 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Russell Reid Auditorium at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum in Bismarck. Prairie Public Broadcasting of Fargo will provide drawings for giveaway items each evening.

Visitors can participate in family friendly bison-focused education stations throughout the State Museum from 3 to 5 p.m. and again from 6 to 7 p.m. both days. Learn about bison history through demonstrations and hands-on activities.

"The American Buffalo" is the biography of an improbable, shaggy beast at the center of many of the country’s most mythic and heartbreaking tales. The series will take viewers on a journey through more than 10,000 years of North American history and across some of the continent’s most iconic landscapes, tracing the mammal’s evolution, its significance to the Great Plains and, most importantly, its relationship to the Indigenous people of North America. For thousands of generations, buffalo have evolved alongside Indigenous people who relied on them for food and shelter, and, in exchange for killing them, revered the animal. The stories of Native people anchor the series. "The American Buffalo" documents the startling swiftness of the species’ near extinction in the late 19th century. By 1900, the American buffalo teetered on the brink of disappearing forever, and the Native people of the Plains entered one of the most traumatic moments of their existence.

But the other, lesser-known part of this story, told in the film’s second episode on Oct. 17, is about the people who set out to save the species from extermination and how they did it. The film concludes with a brief look at some of the ongoing restoration efforts and the central role the Tribal Nations have had in their return.

For more information, contact Education and Engagement Manager Laura Forde at 701.328.2792 or [email protected]. The ND 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. Find upcoming State Historical Society events at history.nd.gov/events.