Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation

The Three Affiliated Tribes is a Native American nation living in North Dakota. The Three Affiliated Tribes consist of the Arikara (Sahnish), who spoke a Caddoan language, and the Hidatsa and Mandan, who spoke a Siouan language. All three nations lived in what is now North and South Dakota, all in different geographic locations along the Missouri River. As a result of smallpox epidemics in the late 18th and early 19th century, the nations came together to form the “Like-A-Fishhook Village” in 1862. In 1870, Ulysses S. Grant issued an executive order creating the 8-million acre Fort Berthold Reservation, but subsequent executive orders reduced their land holdings to one million acres by 1886. Already politically organized, the three nations accepted the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, divided their reservation into district representation, and adopted the name: “Three Affiliated Tribes.” Subsequent issues with the Garrison dam, which flooded their three million acre reservation, left them with under a million acres of reservation land, some pieces geographically fractured by the new reservoir. Currently, the “Three Affiliated Tribes” have a population of 10,249 members, with approximately 980,000 acres of land. The Three Affiliated Tribes own the KMHA Radio Station, the Three Affiliated Tribes Museum, MHA Times, and the Four Bears Casino and Lodge.

“Casino in New Town, ND.” 4 Bears Casino and Lodge. Accessed September 10, 2016. http://4bearscasino.com/.

“Indian Affairs | Fort Berthold.” Accessed September 10, 2016. https://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/RegionalOffices/GreatPlains/WeAre/Agencies/FortBerthold/.

“MHA Nation - Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara.” Accessed September 10, 2016. http://www.mhanation.com/.

“Tribes and Nations (Intro)- American Indian Histories and Culture- Adam Matthew Digital.” Accessed September 29, 2016. http://www.aihc.amdigital.co.uk/FurtherResources/TribesAndNations