g. Prairie Public/proj support - Laserfiche WebLink

Many young people starting their career face a difficult choice. If they want to remain in North Dakota, they have to take jobs at lower wages than they could earn elsewhere or outside their chosen field. Sometimes, the best they're able to achieve is to take jobs in small companies with limited prospects for advancement betting their future in the hopes the future will be brighter. The 60 minute documentary Building Our Future will examine these and other issues facing young people as communities experiment with ways to build opportunities that will attract and retain young residents. It will showcase young people, community leaders and policy makers discussing what can be done to safeguard the future for North Dakota. Online materials will give community leaders and the young people interested in remaining in rural North Dakota even more information on how to make their dreams possible. A Bicentennial Opportunity In 1803, the Lewis and Clark expedition set out from Washington with orders to proceed north from St. Louis until they reached the Mandan nation and thence to explore the recently acquired Louisiana territory. Two hundred years later, thousands of travelers will follow in those footsteps as the country commemorates the bicentennial of the Corps of Discovery's journey. Along the way, these new explorers will "discover" a part of rural North Dakota rarely visited by tourists. The Ft. Berthold Reservation will host one of only 13 officially designated signature events and is expected to draw an unprecedented number of visitors to the reservation. North to the Mandan Nation will document how the Three Affiliated Tribes prepare for the influx of visitors to their signature event. This documentary will examine how this event creates opportunity for the people on the reservation: building the capacity to feed and house the number of expected visitors, building attractions which interpret their culture for outsiders, and building the event itself. Even though most North Dakotans don't think of the state as a tourism destination, many domestic travelers are becoming interested in vacations that provide an environmentally friendly experience. For these travelers, North Dakota may be one of the quintessential "green" destinations. Although Three Affiliated Tribes has built a successful lodge and casino business, tourism on the reservation still lacks other attractions to draw visitors to the reservation. This area has enormous unexplored potential for growth. It is a beautiful part of the state and its historic and cultural significance creates an opportunity for economic growth. 6 January 13, 2003