Observations
Dustin White

Long before European settlers set foot on the banks of what would become the United States, other nations called this land home. Mighty civilizations came and went, creating massive trade routes, waging wars, migrating; leaving an impact across this nation.

More than three centuries before the Declaration of Independence was signed, and the Revolutionary War was fought in order to free the American colonies from the British yoke, a powerful nation made their home in North Dakota.



The Mandan people would construct great villages along the Missouri River, and eventually their numbers would swell to 20,000, possibly more.

However, the once mighty people would succumb to disaster, as famine first hit the area, and then disease, small pox, which would decimate the Mandan. Multiple outbreaks would eventually see the Mandan’s population nearly disappearing.

They would find security by building a new nation with their allies, the Hidatsa and Arikara. Continuing to fight to thrive, the Mandan, the MHA Nation, survived.

As the United States continued their push westward, encroaching on tribal lands, the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara nations sought to find peace. Instead, the United States would find an ally with these three nations.

Returning to On-A-Slant Village, volunteer scouts, largely from the Arikara, fought with George Custer, and became instrumental in the wars against the Lakota.

Just a short walk from the now reconstructed village, in the fort’s military cemetery, one can still find where these scouts once laid, having given their lives for a foreign country.

Eventually, the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara would be forced onto reservations. However, unlike the misconception, this land was not granted to the MHA Nation by the United States. Instead, the opposite was true.

Signing peace treaties with the United States, the MHA Nation, just a shell of their former selves, having been decimated by disease, granted a portion of their ancestral homes to the U.S.

In 1851, the first Fort Laramie Treaty was signed, 12 million acres of land, land the MHA Nation had occupied for centuries, were recognized as belonging to them. Nearly just five decades later, after broken promises and treaties, the MHA Nation was left with just 900,000 acres. Over 11 million acres would be stolen from them.

Survivors, the MHA Nation made the best of their situation. Adapting, they would become a self-subsistent tribe, being one of the few displaced tribes that were able to achieve such.

However, the broken promises continued, and in 1951, with the construction of the Garrison Dam, the MHA Nations most fertile land, some of the best agricultural land in the state, would be destroyed, taking away the livelihood of many in the tribes.

Nearly a quarter of their reservations lands suddenly was underwater. Entire communities were destroyed, and historical and archeological sites were lost. The impact would be an almost total destruction of the MHA Nations traditional way of life.



The impact of this history continues to be felt today. Regretfully, many are unaware of this past, leading to a great amount of misconceptions, racism and prejudice.

As thousands of Native peoples come to the area, representing dozens of Tribal Nations, those misconceptions, that racism and prejudice, becomes more apparent.

Arguments as to why the United States should no longer support tribes, or how the reservations should be taken from Native peoples, are voiced with greater conviction. Inevitably, some will also argue that these tribes lost the war, and thus should face the consequences, as many others have.

What this history should teach us, though, is that many of these tribes never lost their land by being conquered. The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara nations didn’t lose a war against the United States. They sought peace.

They were never a conquered people, but willing tried to negotiate with the United States. In doing so, as is the case with many tribes, they were able to reserve a portion of their home lands, and were granted certain promises, which were meant to continue into the foreseeable future.

While, in the past, the United States has broken these promises, and ignored their treaties, it doesn’t mean that we should follow in those footsteps.

With the International Powwow bringing these cultures to the forefront, we should strive to honor the promises once made, and refrain from breaking anymore. Because these peoples that the United States negotiated with are not just some historic groups. They are Nations that are still here, that are surviving.