Fort Berthold Indian Reservation | |
|---|---|
 Seal | |
 Location in North Dakota | |
| Coordinates:47°44′35″N102°16′39″W / 47.74306°N 102.27750°W /47.74306; -102.27750 | |
| Tribe | Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation |
| Country | United States |
| State | North Dakota |
| Counties | Dunn McKenzie McLean Mercer Mountrail Ward |
| Headquarters | New Town |
| Government | |
| • Body | Three Affiliated Tribes Business Council |
| • Chairman | Mark N. Fox |
| • Vice-Chairman | Randy Phelan |
| Population (2017)[2] | |
• Total | 7,304 |
| Website | mhanation.com |
TheFort Berthold Indian Reservation is a U.S.Indian reservation in westernNorth Dakota that is home for the federally recognizedMandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, also known as theThree Affiliated Tribes. The reservation includes lands on both sides of theMissouri River. The tribal headquarters is inNew Town, the 18th largest city in North Dakota.
Created in 1870, the reservation is a small part of the lands originally reserved to the tribes by theFort Laramie Treaty of 1851, which allocated nearly 12 million acres (49,000 km2) in North Dakota,South Dakota,Montana,Nebraska andWyoming.[3][4]
The reservation is located on theMissouri River in (in descending order of reservation land)McLean,Mountrail,Dunn,McKenzie,Mercer andWard counties. The reservation consists of 988,000 acres (4,000 km2), of which 457,837 acres (1,853 km2) are owned byNative Americans, either as individual allotments or communally by the tribe.[4] TheMcLean National Wildlife Refuge lies within its boundaries.
The Tribe reported a total enrollment of 15,013 registered tribe members in March 2016.[5][6] Many members live in cities because there are more job opportunities. Unemployment on the reservation was at 42%. The2000 census reported a reservation population of 5,915 persons living on a land area of 1,318.895 sq mi (3,415.923 km²). The population of the reservation was 6,341 as of the 2010 census.
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A part of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation is Indian territory of the Three Tribes recognized in theTreaty of Fort Laramie (1851).[7]
Created in 1870 by the U.S. government, the reservation was named afterFort Berthold, a United States Army fort located on the northern bank of theMissouri River some twenty miles downstream (southeast) from the mouth of theLittle Missouri River.[8]
The green area (529) on the map turned U.S. territory on April 12, 1870, by executive order. Area 620 and the part of area 621 south of the Missouri remained in possession of the Indians. At the same time, the narrow area north of the Missouri (up to the greenish line) became territory of the Three Tribes. Thus, the United States recognized the Indians' right to the area with their only permanent homes inLike-a-Fishhook Village. By executive order, the tribes' holdings were reduced to the light pink area (621) on July 13, 1880 (although they gained some extra land straight north of the Missouri). On December 14, 1886, the tribes agreed to cede the land outside the nearly rectangular area on both sides of the Missouri indicated with black dots and strokes.[9]
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries under theDawes Act and related laws, the US government redistributed communal holdings of tribes, assigning lots to heads of households.[10] The government was trying toencourage the tribal members to take up subsistence farming in the European-American style. The tribe retained some communal holdings and, since its reorganization in the 1930s, has resisted distribution of individual allotments.
The creation ofGarrison Dam between 1947–1953 andLake Sakakawea as water reservoir for irrigation, for flood control, and hydroelectric power generation in 1956, flooded large areas of tribal lands that were devoted to farming and ranching, destroying much of the Three Affiliated Tribes’ economy.[11][12] Creation of the lake increased the proportion of water area on the reservation. It totals 263.778 sq mi (683.182 km2) or one-sixth of the reservation's surface area.[13][14]
The reservation was well positioned when the application ofhydraulic fracturing anddirectional drilling technologies caused a boom inoil production from theBakken shale formation beginning around the year 2000.[15]
TheFour Bears Bridge, which opened in 2005 replacing the original 1955 Four Bears Bridge, provides access across Lake Sakakawea.[16]
The largest communities of the reservation are the towns ofNew Town andParshall. The tribe operates 4 Bears Casino and Lodge in New Town, which was built in 1993.[17]
Communities are:
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Municipalities and communities ofDunn County, North Dakota,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| CDP | ||
| Other communities | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Municipalities and communities ofMcKenzie County, North Dakota,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Townships | ||
| Unorganized territories | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other communities | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Municipalities and communities ofMcLean County, North Dakota,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Townships | ||
| Unorganized territories | ||
| CDP | ||
| Other communities | ||
| Indian reservations | ||
| Ghost town | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Municipalities and communities ofMercer County, North Dakota,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Unorganized territories | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Municipalities and communities ofMountrail County, North Dakota,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Townships |
| |
| Unorganized territories | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Municipalities and communities ofWard County, North Dakota,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Townships |
| |
| CDPs | ||
| Other community | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
