African American Homesteading

The public is invited to free presentations of “The Blair Family & the Exoduster Movement in Dakota Territory,” History comes alive as Chautauqua performer Joyce Jefferson portrays Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Blair recounting her life as an African American land agent in Dakota Territory. The performance explores the Exoduster Movement, the late 19th-century migration of thousands of African Americans from the South seeking land, opportunity, and a new beginning in the Great Plains. It also highlights her family’s work to establish the Sully County Colored Colony, also known as the Blair Colony, in Dakota Territory.
This programming coincides with Jamestown's annual Buffalo Days, July 24-26, and is part of the ND250 commemoration celebrating our country’s 250th birthday.