Share Your Story: An Invitation to Document Your COVID-19 Experiences in North Dakota

Share Your Story: An Invitation to Document Your COVID-19 Experiences in North Dakota

A man coloring with his daughter outdoors. A woman's hands shown using a sweing machine to make a green and yellow floral mask. A man and woman walking their dog outdoors on a paved path surrounded by green grass. A man gets a pastry from a woman through a walk up window. A nurse in a hat and protective glasses holds a red heart that says Share Your Story. A man sits at a desk with a computer, lamp, headphones, and pen jar in front of him.

Many of us are wondering what we can do to help during this ever-changing world pandemic. Please consider sharing your North Dakota related experiences through your pictures, videos, art, journals, text screenshots, and objects. Your contributions are important to documenting this time in history for future generations. The State Historical Society of North Dakota will preserve and share your stories and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Why is your help so important now? The stories and materials we collect now will allow all of us to document, study, and share these experiences in the future. We will be collecting stories for the duration of this crisis.

Ideas to Get Started

Not sure what to submit? Here are a few suggestions to help spark some ideas.

  • What materials and stories demonstrate how you are continuing to communicate, work, commute, learn, teach, create, pray, celebrate, mourn, and give aid to others in your daily life?
  • How are you and your family members spending your time?
  • What did you need to cancel because of the pandemic?
  • What is most important to you during this time?
  • Was there a moment when you realized a historic event was taking place?
  • What are your thoughts about why we are experiencing shortages of some basic items in grocery stores? What are you stocking up on in case of an emergency?
  • What places are important to you now? (home office, grocery store, walking route, etc.)
  • What parks/sites or green spaces are you visiting that provide the opportunity for social distancing but provide a break from being indoors?
  • Are you choosing to practice social distancing? If self-isolating, has this changed or deepened what is most important to you?
  • What have you lost? (going out to eat, gathering with friends, shopping time, working out, etc.)
  • How have you protected your health and the health of others at home and/or at work?
  • How are you addressing your mental well-being during this time?
  • How has this affected your view of the importance of in-person human interaction?
  • How did this pandemic influence major events for you such as national elections and holiday celebrations?
  • How have you reacted to public health directives and to government directives?
  • What permanent changes do you plan to make in your life after this experience?

Share Your Experiences

Please be as specific as possible, including dates and locations where appropriate.

Tell Us About Yourself

*These fields are required.

Share Your Digital Files

We encourage donations of photos, home videos, audio recordings, blog posts, social media posts, work communication, art, and other media as file uploads, rather than as links to online posts.

  • Write: Keep a journal, write poetry, or take screenshots of your relevant social media posts
  • Create art: Draw, paint, or digital
  • Film home videos or record audio from your phone or other equipment
  • Take pictures or videos of your environment in quarantine or at work. Make sure you ask for permission if you include others in your images.
  • Upload records from your business that document how it responded to the crisis (social media graphics, e-mail or mail correspondence, business announcements, etc.). Please get permission from your business before uploading any work-related items.

Share a file

Click "Upload" to the right once you choose your file. "Upload" will change to "Remove" when your file has finished uploading. Uploads are limited to 25 MB. If your file is too large, please email shsadmin@nd.gov.
Please provide a title for your file.
Please provide as much detail as possible about your file. What is it about? Who is in it?
When was the file created?
Where did this take place? Please include city name and any other relevant information such as names of buildings, streets, neighborhoods, parks, etc.

Share another file

Click "Upload" to the right once you choose your file. "Upload" will change to "Remove" when your file has finished uploading. Uploads are limited to 25 MB. If your file is larger than that, please email shsadmin@nd.gov.
Please provide a title for your file.
Please provide as much detail as possible about your file. What is it about? Who is in it?
When was the file created?
Where did this take place? Please include city name and any other relevant information such as names of buildings, streets, neighborhoods, parks, etc.

Share another file

Click "Upload" to the right once you choose your file. "Upload" will change to "Remove" when your file has finished uploading. Uploads are limited to 25 MB. If your file is larger than that, please email shsadmin@nd.gov.
Please provide a title for your file.
Please provide as much detail as possible about your file. What is it about? Who is in it?
When was the file created?
Where did this take place? Please include city name and any other relevant information such as names of buildings, streets, neighborhoods, parks, etc.

Share another file

Click "Upload" to the right once you choose your file. "Upload" will change to "Remove" when your file has finished uploading. Uploads are limited to 25 MB. If your file is larger than that, please email shsadmin@nd.gov.
Please provide a title for your file.
Please provide as much detail as possible about your file. What is it about? Who is in it?
When was the file created?
Where did this take place? Please include city name and any other relevant information such as names of buildings, streets, neighborhoods, parks, etc.

Share another file

Click "Upload" to the right once you choose your file. "Upload" will change to "Remove" when your file has finished uploading. Uploads are limited to 25 MB. If your file is larger than that, please email shsadmin@nd.gov.
Please provide a title for your file.
Please provide as much detail as possible about your file. What is it about? Who is in it?
When was the file created?
Where did this take place? Please include city name and any other relevant information such as names of buildings, streets, neighborhoods, parks, etc.

Share another file

Click "Upload" to the right once you choose your file. "Upload" will change to "Remove" when your file has finished uploading. Uploads are limited to 25 MB. If your file is larger than that, please email shsadmin@nd.gov.
Please provide a title for your file.
Please provide as much detail as possible about your file. What is it about? Who is in it?
When was the file created?
Where did this take place? Please include city name and any other relevant information such as names of buildings, streets, neighborhoods, parks, etc.

Share another file

Click "Upload" to the right once you choose your file. "Upload" will change to "Remove" when your file has finished uploading. Uploads are limited to 25 MB. If your file is larger than that, please email shsadmin@nd.gov.
Please provide a title for your file.
Please provide as much detail as possible about your file. What is it about? Who is in it?
When was the file created?
Where did this take place? Please include city name and any other relevant information such as names of buildings, streets, neighborhoods, parks, etc.

Share another file

Click "Upload" to the right once you choose your file. "Upload" will change to "Remove" when your file has finished uploading. Uploads are limited to 25 MB. If your file is larger than that, please email shsadmin@nd.gov.
Please provide a title for your file.
Please provide as much detail as possible about your file. What is it about? Who is in it?
When was the file created?
Where did this take place? Please include city name and any other relevant information such as names of buildings, streets, neighborhoods, parks, etc.

Share another file

Click "Upload" to the right once you choose your file. "Upload" will change to "Remove" when your file has finished uploading. Uploads are limited to 25 MB. If your file is larger than that, please email shsadmin@nd.gov.
Please provide a title for your file.
Please provide as much detail as possible about your file. What is it about? Who is in it?
When was the file created?
Where did this take place? Please include city name and any other relevant information such as names of buildings, streets, neighborhoods, parks, etc.

Share another file

Click "Upload" to the right once you choose your file. "Upload" will change to "Remove" when your file has finished uploading. Uploads are limited to 25 MB. If your file is larger than that, please email shsadmin@nd.gov.
Please provide a title for your file.
Please provide as much detail as possible about your file. What is it about? Who is in it?
When was the file created?
Where did this take place? Please include city name and any other relevant information such as names of buildings, streets, neighborhoods, parks, etc.

Share Your Paper Materials

For papers materials that are not digitized, such as journals, photographs, menus, and signs, please contact the State Archives at archives@nd.gov.

Share Your Physical Objects

The State Historical Society will also collect objects that relate to the pandemic in North Dakota when appropriate, after they are no longer needed. These include items that represent the medical and economic impact of the virus on our communities, such as

  • essential medical items
  • homemade masks
  • cleaning supplies
  • items in high demand (toilet paper, hand sanitizer, vanilla extract, yeast)

Please fill out this information for us to consider your items.

Questions

If you have questions about donations, please contact archives@nd.gov for digital and paper materials and museumacquisitions@nd.gov for objects.

In gathering your thoughts and stories, please adhere to all issued safety precautions, such as social distancing, to minimize the spread of COVID-19.

Contribution Guidelines and Terms

Please read and agree to the following guidelines before submitting your content:

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