Pembina State Museum

07/04/2026

Thank you everyone who came to the museum and participated in our programs. To those who asked, we will definitely be "Calling out the Militia" again next year! We hope you all have a safe and exciting Independence Day!

07/04/2026

We're all set up with free lemonade and lawn games. We hope you'll stop by! At 1pm, we'll be "Calling out the Militia." Kids can make a paper tricorn hat and people can march on the back lawn like the Minutemen did in 1776!

05/19/2026

𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗺

We’ve had a late spring here in Pembina, and I’ve been eager to get back outside. One of my passions is gardening and with the ground thawed and the air warm I’m finally getting my hands dirty again—literally! Spring cleanup in our interpretive garden, which features many plants native to the Red River Valley, is well underway.

The Pembina State Museum garden is an ongoing project that started in 2021. We’ve arranged different native species as a decorative and informative addition to the front of the museum. Layered from back to front are red osier dogwoods, smooth sumacs, junipers, wild onions, columbine, bluebell, highbush cranberry, and purple prairie clover.

Read the full blog article at https://blog.statemuseum.nd.gov/growing-outdoor-interpretation-pembina-state-museum.

05/14/2026

Work is being done on our observation tower, but we're still open! You may notice workers stripping and repainting the tower surface and cleaning windows in the next few weeks, but we are still fully open, including the observation deck! We'll keep you all updated as the work progresses.

02/18/2026

We will be Closed today due to the ongoing icy conditions and No Travel Advisory. We will be open our regular hours on Thursday.

02/07/2026

Thank you, Eva and Katt Robinson of Diva Dog Racing, for coming to the museum and presenting about all things dog racing! We learned a great deal and enjoyed meeting Forest! Our next research deep dive is going to be about the 1917 Red River Derby, which no one here had ever heard of, amazing stuff!

01/08/2026

On this day in 1814, on the south side of the Pembina River at Fort Daer, former Captain of the Queen’s Rangers, Governor of Assiniboia, and Superintendent for the Red River Colony Miles McDonnell signs into law the Pemmican Proclamation, which is the inciting act that started the Pemmican War.

The Selkirk settlers, who had first landed in the territory in 1812, suffered several years of drought and neglect. The promised arrival of more immigrants was delayed and wanting to save what little grain they had produced for the next year’s planting, the Selkirk settlers retreated to Pembina.

There first year in the Red River Valley went similarly. The settlers retreated to Pembina to survive the winter, where they built a fort on the south side of the river, opposite the North West Company, whose employees hosted the settlers with kindness in the winter of 1812-1813. By the following winter, however, the mood had soured, and the Selkirk settlers were threatened and harassed. Unable to hunt due to the increased hostility, and with no other options, Superintendent McDonnell had to act.

The Pemmican Proclamation was signed in an effort to alleviate the settler’s hardships and provide food for the colony. The Proclamation forbade the transportation of pemmican or any other food from the territory of Assiniboia for one year in the hopes that there would be enough food for the incoming settlers that spring. This enraged the North West Company who already saw the presence of the settlers as a threat, and now believed the proclamation was a ploy to starve out their wintering partners outside of the territory. That summer, to further secure food, McDonnell forbade the running of buffalo by horse in order to keep the herds close to the colony. This enraged the natives and the Métis especially, whose livelihood depended on hunting buffalo.

These two proclamations sparked conflict which resulted in the death of Governor Semple, who replaced McDonnel after he was arrested and transported to Montreal, and many other settlers at Seven Oaks in 1816 and is ultimately responsible for the end of the North West Company. The Hudson’s Bay Company absorbed the North West Company in 1821. McDonnell, for his part, was captured by NWC employees in 1815 and taken to Montreal to stand trial for the charge of stealing pemmican, though he never actually faced a judge. But on a cold January day in 1814, the proclamation was a promise to the hungry and destitute settlers that things would get better.

01/07/2026

We have snowshoes available to use!

As part of a statewide initiative "Snowshoe the State", The Pembina State Museum, along with the State Library, North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum, and other historic sites, has snowshoes that you can check out. There's no charge to check them out, but they are first come, first served. You can check them out for up to three days by stopping by the museum and asking about them at the front desk. Use them at any of the local parks or trails or just try them out at the museum. We've got snow drifts a-plenty to walk on! Be sure to dress warm!

More information and specifics about where else you can get snowshoes can be found at:

State Historical Society of North Dakota Events Snowshoe the State

12/30/2025

The Pembina State Museum will be closed tomorrow, December 31st, and Thursday, January 1st for the New Year. Happy new year and we'll see you all in 2026!