Local site gains National Historic Landmark status
An archaeological site in the Sheyenne River Valley was recently declared a National Historic Landmark by the Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell. The Biesterfeldt site, east of Lisbon, ND, is widely regarded as one of the historic period homes of the Cheyenne people. On January 11, Secretary Jewell announced the designation of 24 new National Historic Landmarks, including the Biesterfeldt site. The National Historic Landmarks Program recognizes historic properties of exceptional value to the nation. “These 24 new designations depict different threads of the American story that have been told through activism, architecture, music, and religious observance,” said Secretary Jewell. “Their designation ensures future generations have the ability to learn from the past as we preserve and protect the historic value of these properties and the more than 2,500 other landmarks nationwide.” (https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-announces-24-new-national-historic-landmarks)
In 2007 and 2008 MSUM archaeologists and their students performed a variety of tests at the site preliminary to, and in support of, its nomination. The MSUM work included two field schools, an archaeological field school and a geoarchaeological field school focused on a geophysical examination of the deposit. In 2008 MSUM also hosted the National Park Service training workshop in geophysical prospection, during which time 17 experts and 40 participants from around the world gathered at the site. The work at Biesterfeldt was funded in part by MSUM, and by the Midwest Archaeological Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
MSUM anthropology faculty prepared several technical reports and published two papers on the work at Biesterfeldt, “The Cheyenne migration and the Biesterfeldt site revisited” in Plains Anthropologist, and “The Measurement and Analysis of Depth in Archaeological Geophysics: Tests at the Biesterfeldt Site” in Archaeological Prospection. The property is owned by the Archaeological Conservancy.