Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation
Encyclopedia
Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes, are a Native American
group comprising a union of the Mandan, Hidatsa
, and Arikara
peoples, whose native lands ranged across the Missouri River
basin in the Dakotas
. Hardship, losses from infectious disease
and forced relocations brought the remnants of the peoples together in the late 19th century.
Today, the nation is based at the Fort Berthold Reservation
in North Dakota
. The Tribe consists of about 12,600 enrolled members. Nearly 4,500 live on the reservation; others live and work elsewhere.
In the same election, the membership of the Three Affiliated Tribes voted on an amendment regarding the eligibility of individuals as candidates for public office of the tribe. As of November 3, 2010 a person must have at least 1/4 Mandan, Hidatsa, or Arikara ancestry (the equivalent of one grandparent) to qualify as a candidate for the Tribal Business Council. This amendment passed by a vote of 693 for and 400 against. 2,583 people were registered to vote.
tribe currently part of the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota
. At the height of their historic culture, the Mandan were prosperous and peaceful farmers and traders, noted for their excellent maize
cultivation and crafting of Knife River
flint
. They built earthen lodge villages of considerable technical skill, and cultivated many varieties of maize. They were a more sedentary people than other, more nomadic tribes of the Great Plains
.
Lewis and Clark stayed with the Mandan when they passed through the Upper Missouri region on their expedition to the Northwest, including five months in the winter of 1804-1805. Sakagawea, a Shoshone
who had been kidnapped and adopted by the Hidatsa at an early age, joined the expedition as an interpreter and native guide. Because of her contributions, she was honored with an image on the U.S. dollar coin
. On the return trip, the expedition brought a Mandan chief with them back to Washington, DC.
The smallpox
epidemic
of 1837–1838 decimated the Mandan, leaving approximately 125 survivors and destroying their society. They banded together with the Hidatsa
to survive. Later, when the Arikara were forced northward by wars with the Lakota, they also settled with the Hidatsa and Mandan. When European-American settlers began arriving in this territory in number in the late 19th century, the US relocated the three tribes to the Fort Berthold Reservation
. Under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the tribes formed a tribal government which they called the Three Affiliated Tribes, a self-governing unit. Today about 30 individuals are confirmed Mandan full-bloods. Most members of the tribe have varying amounts of Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara ancestry.
Some explorers described the Mandan and their structures as having "European" features, as the Europeans struggled to relate the new sights to what they knew. In the 19th century, a few people used such anecdotes to speculate that the Mandan were, in part, descended from lost European settlers who had arrived at North America before 1492, or the voyage of Christopher Columbus
. One legend associated them with Welsh ancestry. Historians and anthropologists have found no evidence to support such a theory.
The Hidatsa, called Moennitarri by their allies the Mandan, are a Siouan-speaking people. The Hidatsa name for themselves (autonym) is Nuxbaaga ("Original People"). The name Hidatsa, said to mean "willows," was that of a band's village. When the villages consolidated, the tribe used that name for their people as a whole.
Their language is related to that of the Crow nation. They have been considered a parent tribe to the modern Crow in Montana
. The Hidatsa have sometimes been confused with the Gros Ventre
, another tribe which was historically in Montana. In 1936, the Bureau of Indian Affairs compiled the Tribe's Base Roll listing all Hidatsa as "G.V.", for Gros Ventre. Today about 30 full-blood Hidatsa are members of the Affiliated Three Tribes. Most Hidatsa people have ancestry also of the Mandan and Arikara tribes.
and the European-American settlement in the 1870s. The Arikara lived for many years near the Ft. Clark trading post, also called Knife River.
In 1862 they joined the Hidatsa and Mandan at Like-a-Fishhook Village, near the Fort Berthold trading post. For work, the Arikara men scouted for the U. S. Army, stationed at nearby Fort Stevenson
. In 1874, the Arikara scouts guided Custer on the Black Hills
Expedition, during which his party discovered gold and prompted European-American desire for the lands, which the Lakota considered sacred.
In 1876, a large group of Arikara men accompanied Custer and the 7th Cavalry on the Little Big Horn Expedition
. Arikara scouts were in the lead when US Army forces attacked the widespread encampment of thousands of Sioux and Cheyenne
warriors and families. Several scouts drove off Lakota horses, as they had been ordered, and others fought alongside the troopers. Three Arikara men were killed: Little Brave, Bobtail Bull, and Bloody Knife
. During the subsequent confusion, when the scouts were cut off from the troopers, they returned to the base camp as they had been directed. After the battle, in which Custer and some 260 other US troops were killed, the search for scapegoats resulted in some critics mistakenly accusing the scouts of having abandoned the soldiers.
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
group comprising a union of the Mandan, Hidatsa
Hidatsa
The Hidatsa are a Siouan people, a part of the Three Affiliated Tribes. The Hidatsa's autonym is Hiraacá. According to the tribal tradition, the word hiraacá derives from the word "willow"; however, the etymology is not transparent and the similarity to mirahací ‘willows’ inconclusive...
, and Arikara
Arikara
Arikara are a group of Native Americans in North Dakota...
peoples, whose native lands ranged across the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
basin in the Dakotas
The Dakotas
The Dakotas is a collective term that refers to the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota together. The term has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is continued to be used to describe the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, the economy, and...
. Hardship, losses from infectious disease
Infectious disease
Infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...
and forced relocations brought the remnants of the peoples together in the late 19th century.
Today, the nation is based at the Fort Berthold Reservation
Fort Berthold Reservation
The Fort Berthold Indian Reservation is a U.S. Indian reservation in western North Dakota that is home for the federally recognized Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes...
in North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
. The Tribe consists of about 12,600 enrolled members. Nearly 4,500 live on the reservation; others live and work elsewhere.
Qualification changes
In 2010 the tribe passed amendments emphasizing blood quantum or minimum amounts of tribal ancestry to qualify individuals for membership and as candidates for public office. Individuals must have at least 1/8 Mandan, Hidatsa, or Arikara ancestry (the equivalent of one great-grandparent) to become an enrolled member of the MHA Nation. Before the amendment's passage on November 3, 2010, membership was open to any individual with "Lineal Descent" from a tribal member. This amendment passed by a vote of 616 for and 477 against. 2,583 people were registered to vote.In the same election, the membership of the Three Affiliated Tribes voted on an amendment regarding the eligibility of individuals as candidates for public office of the tribe. As of November 3, 2010 a person must have at least 1/4 Mandan, Hidatsa, or Arikara ancestry (the equivalent of one grandparent) to qualify as a candidate for the Tribal Business Council. This amendment passed by a vote of 693 for and 400 against. 2,583 people were registered to vote.
Tribal council
The current tribal business council is Chairman Tex G. Hall (At-large), who was elected November 2, 2010; Vice-Chairman Scott Eagle (New Town 2008-2012); Treasurer Mervin Packineau (Parshall 2002-2014); Secretary V. Judy Brugh (4 Bears 2006-2014); Arnold Strahs (Mandaree 2008-2012); Frank White Calfe (White Shield 2004-2012); and Barry Benson (Twin Buttes 2006-2014). A term for a Tribal Council member lasts a duration of 4 years when elected. There are no term limits for council members.Mandan
The Mandan are a Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
tribe currently part of the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
. At the height of their historic culture, the Mandan were prosperous and peaceful farmers and traders, noted for their excellent maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
cultivation and crafting of Knife River
Knife River
This article is about the river in North Dakota. For other meanings, see Knife River The Knife River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 120 mi long, in North Dakota in the United States....
flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
. They built earthen lodge villages of considerable technical skill, and cultivated many varieties of maize. They were a more sedentary people than other, more nomadic tribes of the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
.
Lewis and Clark stayed with the Mandan when they passed through the Upper Missouri region on their expedition to the Northwest, including five months in the winter of 1804-1805. Sakagawea, a Shoshone
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
who had been kidnapped and adopted by the Hidatsa at an early age, joined the expedition as an interpreter and native guide. Because of her contributions, she was honored with an image on the U.S. dollar coin
Sacagawea dollar
The Sacagawea dollar is a United States dollar coin that has been minted every year since 2000. These coins have a copper core clad by manganese brass, giving them a distinctive golden color. The coin features an obverse by Glenna Goodacre. The reverse design has varied, from 2000 to 2008...
. On the return trip, the expedition brought a Mandan chief with them back to Washington, DC.
The smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
of 1837–1838 decimated the Mandan, leaving approximately 125 survivors and destroying their society. They banded together with the Hidatsa
Hidatsa
The Hidatsa are a Siouan people, a part of the Three Affiliated Tribes. The Hidatsa's autonym is Hiraacá. According to the tribal tradition, the word hiraacá derives from the word "willow"; however, the etymology is not transparent and the similarity to mirahací ‘willows’ inconclusive...
to survive. Later, when the Arikara were forced northward by wars with the Lakota, they also settled with the Hidatsa and Mandan. When European-American settlers began arriving in this territory in number in the late 19th century, the US relocated the three tribes to the Fort Berthold Reservation
Fort Berthold Reservation
The Fort Berthold Indian Reservation is a U.S. Indian reservation in western North Dakota that is home for the federally recognized Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes...
. Under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the tribes formed a tribal government which they called the Three Affiliated Tribes, a self-governing unit. Today about 30 individuals are confirmed Mandan full-bloods. Most members of the tribe have varying amounts of Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara ancestry.
Some explorers described the Mandan and their structures as having "European" features, as the Europeans struggled to relate the new sights to what they knew. In the 19th century, a few people used such anecdotes to speculate that the Mandan were, in part, descended from lost European settlers who had arrived at North America before 1492, or the voyage of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
. One legend associated them with Welsh ancestry. Historians and anthropologists have found no evidence to support such a theory.
Hidatsa
Their language is related to that of the Crow nation. They have been considered a parent tribe to the modern Crow in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. The Hidatsa have sometimes been confused with the Gros Ventre
Gros Ventres
The Gros Ventre people , also known as the A'ani, A'aninin, Haaninin, and Atsina, are a historically Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe located in north central Montana...
, another tribe which was historically in Montana. In 1936, the Bureau of Indian Affairs compiled the Tribe's Base Roll listing all Hidatsa as "G.V.", for Gros Ventre. Today about 30 full-blood Hidatsa are members of the Affiliated Three Tribes. Most Hidatsa people have ancestry also of the Mandan and Arikara tribes.
Arikara
The Arikara call themselves Sahnish. The Arikara were forced into Mandan territory by conflict with the Lakota (Sioux), between the Arikara WarArikara War
The Arikara War took place in August of 1823 between the United States and the Arikara native Americans near the Missouri River, in present-day South Dakota. Arikara warriors had previously attacked a trapping expedition traveling on the river. The United States responded with forces of 230...
and the European-American settlement in the 1870s. The Arikara lived for many years near the Ft. Clark trading post, also called Knife River.
In 1862 they joined the Hidatsa and Mandan at Like-a-Fishhook Village, near the Fort Berthold trading post. For work, the Arikara men scouted for the U. S. Army, stationed at nearby Fort Stevenson
Fort Stevenson
Fort Stevenson was a frontier military fort in the 19th century in what was then Dakota Territory and what is now North Dakota. The fort was abandoned in 1883 with the sale of all buildings and property. In 1901 the lands encompassing the Fort Stevenson Military Reservation were sold to Black and...
. In 1874, the Arikara scouts guided Custer on the Black Hills
Black Hills
The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...
Expedition, during which his party discovered gold and prompted European-American desire for the lands, which the Lakota considered sacred.
In 1876, a large group of Arikara men accompanied Custer and the 7th Cavalry on the Little Big Horn Expedition
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
. Arikara scouts were in the lead when US Army forces attacked the widespread encampment of thousands of Sioux and Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
warriors and families. Several scouts drove off Lakota horses, as they had been ordered, and others fought alongside the troopers. Three Arikara men were killed: Little Brave, Bobtail Bull, and Bloody Knife
Bloody Knife
Bloody Knife was an American Indian scout and guide with the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment. He was the favorite scout of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and he has been called "perhaps the most famous Native American scout to serve the U.S...
. During the subsequent confusion, when the scouts were cut off from the troopers, they returned to the base camp as they had been directed. After the battle, in which Custer and some 260 other US troops were killed, the search for scapegoats resulted in some critics mistakenly accusing the scouts of having abandoned the soldiers.
Notable tribal members
- Edward Lone FightEdward Lone FightEdward Lone Fight served as Chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation from 1986 to 1990. In 1988 Lone Fight met with President Ronald Reagan, a meeting which was the catalyst for the Just Compensation Bill, introduced based on the findings of the Joint Tribal Advisory Committee, which...
(b. 1940), chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes - Tex G. HallTex G. HallTex G. Hall , is a Native American who was tribal chairman of Three Affiliated Tribes from 1998 to 2006. He lost the 2006 election to Marcus Levings, but in the 2010 tribal election, Hall defeated Levings...
External links
- Three Affiliated Tribes home page
- Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden - Hidatsa agriculture
- Leon Wolf's Complaint - Hidatsa gestural language
- Discovering Lewis and Clark, history of tribe and interviews with members