Making Connections: Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

Article by Superintendent Gerard Baker.

Photograph: Gerard Baker. Gerard A. Baker has a personal perspective as Superintendent of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and mobile exhibit currently touring the country. Baker is a full blood member of the Mandan-Hidatsa Tribe of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, Mandaree, North Dakota. He grew up on the reservation on his father’s cattle ranch in western North Dakota. He and his wife have four children. One daughter is a curator for the National Park Service (NPS) and a son is a wildlife biologist.

"Corps of Discovery II: 200 Years to the Future supplements local and national observances throughout the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition," said Baker. "It is an occasion to learn more about our nation’s history, including the history of American Indians, and to think about our nation’s future, where we want to be in 200 years."

Baker is a graduate of Southern Oregon State University with degrees in Criminology and Sociology. He has been a deputy sheriff, campground law enforcement and wilderness ranger, and park ranger-historian. He has researched Northern Plains Native American trade and oral history.

Baker has been with the federal government for 25 years. His years of federal service include three years with the USDA Forest Service and 22 years with the National Park Service. He is working with approximately 58 American Indian tribes and 19 trail states. The Corps of Discovery II exhibit, staffed with NPS personnel, is following the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, from January 2003 through the Fall of 2006.

Tribes with Kansas Connections

Citizen Potawatomi Nation
1601 S Gordon Cooper Drive
Shawnee, OK 74801

Iowa Tribe of Kansas
3345 Thrasher Rd
White Cloud, KS 66094

Kaw Nation of Oklahoma
698 Grandview Drive
Kaw City, OK 74641

Kickapoo Nation of Kansas
1107 Goldfinch Rd
Horton, KS 66439

Otoe-Missouria Tribe
8151 Highway 177
Red Rock, OK 74651

Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma
PO Box 470
Pawnee, OK 74058

Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation
16281 Q Rd
Mayetta, KS 55509

Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri
302 N Main
Reserve, KS 66439

Logo: Brown v. Board 50th Anniversary Coalition. The Brown v. Board 50th Anniversary Coalition was established to commemorate the convergence in 2004 of several turning points in Kansas history, including the 150th anniversary of Territorial Kansas and the City of Topeka and the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Its purpose is to network community efforts for these events in 2004, including the Grand Opening of the Brown v. Board National Historic Site in Topeka. For more information, call 1-800-235-1030 or visit brownvboard.org/coalition/.