The history of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara ancestors in North Dakota’s Bakken region stretches back to long before the concept of a United States of America even began to emerge. “We were homestead people. We were gardeners,” said James Moren, a supervisor over the long earth lodges, a historical preservation area that studies and […]
Chapter Three: Silica Valley
A few short years ago, the Fort Berthold Reservation consisted of only a handful of sleepy towns. The population hovered beneath 10,000 people spread out among nearly 1 million acres. Few locked their doors and many of the country roads remained unpaved. Some families had 16 people living within the confines of a two-bedroom home. […]
Chapter Five: Where are You?
It isn’t just the oil boom. Native Americans disappear or are murdered at an alarming rate all over this nation. FBI statistics listed nearly 10,000 missing in 2018. Some eventually return to their families. Many don’t. These are a few of their stories. Kateri Mishow Kateri Mishow would call her father every day. The 22-year-old […]
Chapter Eight: Nation-Building
The MHA people have a long, storied history that goes back centuries before any Europeans even settled on this continent. They have schools, families and communities much like what you might find in other American small towns. And many of them are actively working to preserve and celebrate the culture that keeps them who they […]