Germans from Russia make knoephle, Sons of Norway make lutefisk, and by their sheer numbers and the smell of their food you can easily pick them out on the North Dakota landscape.

What gets overlooked, often, is the French heritage here.

Quoi?

You heard right. French.

From Pierre la Verendrye - the first non-Indian to set foot in what is now North Dakota - to Merle Boucher, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor this year, men and women with French heritage have made their mark here. An organization called Initiatives in French has just launched a magazine called IF Midwest, and the inaugural issue is all about North Dakota.

To celebrate the French culture here, IFMidwest and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa will host a tour of northeastern North Dakota next week. Events run from Thursday to May 3, culminating in a French-Canadian and Michif reunion in Belcourt.

One of the event's organizers, Virgil Benoit, is a professor of philosophy at the University of North Dakota. He'll be on hand Thursday when the tour begins with a reception at UND's Chester Fritz Library. The reception, to be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on the fourth floor, is open to the public. Writers, researchers, professors, students and community members will gather to hear about the work IFMidwest is doing. The reception will be hosted by the Quebec Government Office of Chicago.

The next day, a coach tour of northeast North Dakota will begin. The tour will make seven stops at places historically significant to French-Canadian and Michif culture. The tour will terminate in Belcourt, where the reunion will be held May 3. The annual gathering, held at Turtle Mountain Community College, will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will feature several interactive sessions on such topics as history, Michif music and language, dialog between Michifs, Chippewa and French-Canadians, travel and more.

For complete information, visit www.ifmidwest.org and click on "news."