Kessie Kessie
A Place to Belong
Founder and CEO Lorraine Davis
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701-557-7313
Envisioning A New Cultural Center in Bismarck
The idea for a cultural center did not begin with blueprints, fundraising targets, or architectural renderings. It began with lived experience— shaped by disconnection, survival, and the realization that something essential was missing in this community.
For Lorraine Davis, that realization came in 2002, as she began her recovery journey in the Bismarck–Mandan area. A young Native American woman, single parent, and survivor of trauma and addiction, Davis was doing everything the system asked of her. She secured housing after a year-long wait. She worked to stabilize her life. She sought help.
But when she went looking for something deeper—traditional healing, cultural connection, and identity reclamation—she found there was no place to go for this.
“I was looking for a Native space,” Davis said. “An Indian center. A cultural center. A spiritual leader. Someone who could help guide me when I was ready to walk a good life.” She calls that path Canku Luta—the Red Road. For many Indigenous people in recovery, walking the Red Road means returning to culture, spirituality, and identity as the foundation for healing. But in Bismarck at the time, access to those traditional supports didn’t exist.
Treatment programs addressed addiction. Social services addressed rental assistance and employment. But the systems designed to help people heal rarely acknowledged who they were—or where they came from.
“I knew I needed to go a spiritual route,” Davis said. “But I didn’t have access to my traditional ways. I was hungry for my identity.”
That aspiration for belonging, for cultural connections, for a place where healing and learning could be whole rather than fragmented—became the seed of a vision that would grow over the next two decades.
When Systems Treat Symptoms, Not Roots
Davis’ experience is not unique. Many Indigenous people navigating poverty, recovery, reentry, or major life transitions describe a similar gap: services that focus on behavior without addressing identity.
Addiction, incarceration, homelessness, and mental health challenges are often treated as individual failures rather than outcomes of disconnection— disconnection from family, culture, language, land, and community. For Indigenous people, those layers of disconnection are often compounded by historical and intergenerational trauma.
“When you’re trying to recover,” Davis said, “you start asking yourself, ‘Who am I?’ And if you don’t have access to culture, that question goes unanswered. Leaving us lost.”
Without that support, progress can be fragile. Housing without healing often leads to relapse and rehomelessness. Employment without belonging leads to disatisfaction, emptiness, and an eventual transition elsewhere. Treatment without cultural relevance often fails to reach a deeper sense of self for the people seeking to understand themselves and life.
“That’s when I knew,” she said. “If someone wakes up one day and says, ‘I’m done—I want a better life,’ our community needs to be ready to catch them, and guide them and support them through this journey.”
From Personal Need to Collective Vision
That realization did not immediately become a building project. It became a commitment. A commitment made in 2002 by Mrs. Davis. A commitment she has followed through with.
By 2012, Davis began working directly with others facing the same barriers—people leaving incarceration, parents trying to stabilize their families, individuals navigating addiction and mental health challenges, youth searching for identity in environments where they felt invisible or misunderstood.
During her professional experience, again and again, she noticed the same needs being left underaddressed in the community.
People could access pieces of help, but not a holistic approach of services by the people they are familiar with and comfortable with.
They could find services, but not community.
They could survive—but struggle to heal.
And all the while, North Dakota’s urban Native population continued to grow.
Today, nearly half of the state’s Native population lives in urban areas. Bismarck is home to the largest and most tribally diverse urban Native community in North Dakota. Yet there remains no dedicated urban cultural center—no permanent, visible place where Indigenous culture, services, and community life intersect.
That gap is what Davis is now working to fill.
The Mission of Native Inc.
The proposed Cultural Center in north Bismarck is the next evolution of the work Davis has been building for more than a decade through Native Inc. and the Native American Development Center, but the concept began in 2002 on a hill in Mandan.
Native Inc. was founded on a belief that healing is most effective when culture, services, and opportunity are integrated—not siloed. Culture isn’t just feathers, arts, crafts, etc. Culture is in the social norms. This is how we create a sense of belonging for all indigenous and all other people. No one is judged. Everyone is believed in.
The organization provides behavioral health services, housing stabilization, workforce development, transportation assistance, peer support, and cultural programming. Many of those services are delivered by people with lived experience—individuals who understand the challenges participants face because they have walked similar paths.
What Native Inc. has learned is that progress in one area rarely lasts without stability in other areas. It has to be holistically addressed.
“You can’t separate the human being into pieces,” Davis said. “We’re not designed that way.”
The Cultural Center is designed to reflect that truth—physically, programmatically, and symbolically.
The NATIVE Inc. Vision Statement
“We are Native Americans within the greater Bismarck Mandan Metropolitan Area. We are respected and appreciated. We are prosperous and healthy families, proud of our Native American heritage. We are respected political and civic leaders. We are well known for our athleticism and healthy lifestyles. Our languages link current generations to the ancient indigenous people who lived in harmony with the earth. Our ancestors’ ancient wisdom instructs us today. We are a courageous people telling the truth about a history of conflict, yet willing to forgive and to reconcile with brothers and sisters. We are a welcoming people, sharing with those new to the community and those who cannot meet their basic needs. We are respectful and generous, and we stand in solidarity with those who seek to improve their lives. Our center helps transform those who feel helplessness and are filled with despair to strong people full of hope.”
Culture as a Foundation, Not an Add-On
Research supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services identifies culture as a protective factor that promotes well-being and resilience. Cultural traditions, values, and practices have been shown to strengthen family and community connections, support identity development, and buffer the negative effects of trauma and stress, thereby improving outcomes like family stability and youth well-being (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2025). In prevention frameworks, cultural connectedness is recognized as one of the protective factors that is positively associated with health and social outcomes, including reduced risks for substance misuse and behavioral challenges, especially among American Indian and Alaska Native youth (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2019).
Studies show that stronger cultural identity and participation in traditional practices are associated with improved mental health outcomes, reduced substance use, and greater resilience among Indigenous people. Culture is not simply a heritage—it is a social determinant of health.
Yet cultural programming is often treated as optional or ceremonial, rather than foundational.
“What’s missing is a place where culture isn’t an event,” Davis said. “It’s part of everyday life for everyone.”
The Cultural Center is designed to change that dynamic.Rather than offering culture as a standalone activity, the center integrates cultural practices directly into human services—recovery programming grounded in tradition, workforce and business development informed by Indigenous values, and community gatherings that reinforce belonging.
This approach recognizes that healing is not linear and not clinical. It is relational. It happens in community. And for many Indigenous people, it begins by reclaiming identity.
A Space Designed for Belonging
At its core, the Cultural Center is about creating a space where Indigenous people feel seen, safe, connected, and welcomed.
For indigenous populations, planned features include areas for cultural gatherings, community meetings, educational programming, and traditional practices. It will be a place where elders can teach, youth can learn, families can gather, and individuals in recovery can find grounding.
“Indigenous people won’t have to leave parts of who they are at the door,” Davis said.
For many Indigenous people in North Dakota, everyday public spaces are not always experienced as welcoming. Research shows that ongoing discrimination and exclusion can limit participation in community life and affect well-being. A cultural center changes that experience. Designed by and for Indigenous communities, it offers a place where culture, language, and identity are not questioned— but celebrated. Here, Indigenous families enter not as guests, but as hosts. The result is a sense of belonging that strengthens individuals, families, and the broader fabric of our state.
Movement, Sport, and Everyday Community
The Cultural Center is designed to support everyday life as much as long-term healing, and that includes physical activity and recreation. A full basketball court will serve as a gathering place for all youth, adults, and families—offering space not only for organized leagues and open gym time, but for informal connection.
“Basketball brings people together,” Davis said. “It’s where relationships start.”
The gymnasium is needed for indigenous populations to revitalize their culture through powwows to encourage wellness through their cultural way of life. Not only are powwows to be shared with the whole community, but the gymnasium is open for the whole community to use for their own recreational and community events. The auditorium, with seating for up to 200 people, will be used to host Indigenous exhibitions shared with all community members. It can also be used by the community to host the various ethnic cultural exhibitions as well. The outdoor amphitheater will be used to host exhibitions during summer months and will also be open for public use.
NATIVE Inc.’s Values
Kinship:
We are all related. We believe in cultivating social and cultural connections with each other.
Culture:
We foster ongoing cultural growth for individuals and families.
Wellness:
We strive to create a place for Native American people to heal and make space for healthy living.
Education:
We offer community members an opportunity to begin and continue their educational journeys about Native American history, culture, and ways of life.
Community:
We provide a sense of belonging through cultural events, gatherings, services, and advocacy.
A Space for Spirituality and Healing
Equally central to the Cultural Center is spirituality. For Indigenous people, healing is not only physical or mental—it is spiritual. The center will provide a healing room for ceremony, and two sweat lodges for prayer and traditional practices that support recovery, reflection, and balance. These practices are not tied to one path or belief system, but rooted in Indigenous ways of understanding wellness as a connection between mind, body, spirit, and community.
“For a lot of people, spirituality is what grounds them,” Davis said. “It’s what helps them stay on the Red Road.”
By making space for spiritual practice, the center acknowledges that healing looks different for everyone—and that cultural and spiritual identity are essential parts of that process.
A Place for Everyone
While the Cultural Center is rooted in Indigenous culture, it is intentionally designed to be inclusive.
“This isn’t a closed door,” Davis said. “It’s a place for everyone who comes with respect.”
The center welcomes families, elders, youth, and community members from all backgrounds who want to learn, connect, and participate. Cultural events, educational opportunities, and community gatherings are designed to foster understanding and relationship-building across cultures.
By opening its doors to the broader community, the Cultural Center becomes a bridge—creating opportunities for shared learning, collaboration, and mutual respect for all cultural ethnicities.
A Community Investment With Broad Impact
While the Cultural Center is designed to serve Indigenous people, its impact extends beyond Native communities.
Healthier families mean stronger neighborhoods. Stable employment means a stronger workforce. Reduced system involvement eases strain on public resources.
“This isn’t just a Native issue,” Davis said. “It’s a community issue.”
The center represents a proactive investment—one that prioritizes dignity, prevention, and long-term success over short-term fixes.
A Hub for Partnership
The center will also serve as a hub for connecting participants to the services Native Inc. already provides, while creating opportunities for collaboration with healthcare providers, educators, commerce, and community organizations across the region and state.
By centralizing culture for indigenous populations in one place to serve all ages and backgrounds, the ability to address the longstanding impacts of displacement, cultural erasure and the need for healing through shared space, learning and community is powerfully reinforced.
“We don’t want to duplicate what already exists,” Davis said. “We want to strengthen it.”
A Place to Belong
At its heart, the Cultural Center answers a simple but profound need.
A place to belong.
A place to heal.
A place to remember who you are.
A place to build prosperity.
For the Indigenous community in the Bismarck region, it represents not just a building—but a promise.
And for the region as a whole, it represents the power of investing in people, culture, and community—together.
To learn more, look out for a new webpage!
ndnadc.org
Facebook | /NDNATIVEINC
Instagram | @ndnativeinc
Linkedin | /native-inc-nd
