Filed Senate Resolution 0035

2000, read first time and referred to Committee on

Introduced

Second Regular Session 111th General Assembly (2000)

SENATE RESOLUTION

MR. PRESIDENT:

I offer the following resolution and move its adoption:

A SENATE RESOLUTION recognizing the outstanding educational resource Conner Prairie has provided to Indiana.

Whereas, Conner Prairie is a living history museum with year-round programs and exhibitions, hands-on activities for children and adults, heritage classes, family fun and lifelong learning;

Whereas, Conner Prairie is about the shaping of America as told through the story of the frontier spirit that still influences us as a nation today - a nation of innovators and entrepreneurs;

Whereas, Conner Prairie provides a variety of authentic, unique and entertaining educational experiences designed to show how American communities formed and developed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries;

Whereas, Conner Prairie inspires and motivates people to realize the potential of communities to enrich and expand the possibilities of their own lives;

Whereas, Conner Prairie has innovated a special program entitled, "Follow the North Star," in which visitors

step into the shoes of a runaway slave and experience first hand the Underground Railroad during the award winning 90-minute program;

Whereas, the North Star Program provides significant enlightenment towards the history of black citizens in the state of Indiana and cultivates communication regarding feelings and impressions about race relations in America today;

Whereas, this presentation has proven to be an outstanding resource for educating Indiana citizens on Indiana black history and for providing an understanding of the motivations that drove many courageous individuals in Indiana history to fight against the unjust human suffering in this country by participating in the Underground Railroad movement; and

Whereas, Conner Prairie has received national recognition through National Public Radio's This American Life program and was featured in USA Today: Therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate of the General Assembly

of the State of Indiana, the House of Representatives concurring:

    SECTION 1. That the Indiana General Assembly recognizes Conner Prairie as a leading resource for education in the state of Indiana and acknowledges the importance of teaching the past to influence our future.
    SECTION 2. That the Indiana General Assembly recognizes and commends the educational and community oriented mission of the North Star program and supports this program's outstanding efforts toward building understanding among the races.
    SECTION 3. The Secretary of the Senate is hereby directed to transmit a copy of this resolution to John Herbst, Chief Operating Officer of Conner Prairie.