Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation
The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation (MHA Nation), also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan: Miiti Naamni; Hidatsa: Awadi Aguraawi; Arikara: ačitaanu' táWIt), is a federally recognized Native American Nation resulting from the alliance of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara peoples, whose Indigenous lands ranged across the Missouri River basin extending from present day North Dakota through western Montana and Wyoming.
[2] In 1862, the Arikara settled with the Mandan and Hidatsa at Like-a-Fishhook to escape war with the Lakota, forming a confederacy that would later be known as the Three Affiliated Tribes.
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.
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.
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, the voyage of Christopher Columbus.
Arikara scouts were in the lead when US Army forces attacked the widespread encampment of thousands of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors and families.
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.
[citation needed] The United States issued two executive orders in 1870 and 1880 that diminished the land base of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara by approximately 80% to make way for a new railroad.
[4] Following the creation of the contemporary Fort Berthold Reservation in 1886, the Bureau of Indian Affairs forced tribal members to leave Like-a-Fishhook Village and take up individual allotments.
"[5] Tribal leaders spent three decades petitioning the United States government to receive fair compensation for the lands ceded by the executive orders of 1870 and 1880.
In order to construct the dam, the US government needed to purchase 152,000 acres of agricultural land in the Fort Berthold Reservation that would be flooded by the creation of Lake Sakakawea.
[2] The construction of Garrison Dam almost totally destroyed the traditional way of life for the Three Affiliated Tribes and made them much more dependent on the federal government.
In 1992, Congress awarded the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation over $149.2 million and over 156,000 acres (63,000 ha) of land in just compensation for wrongs imposed on the tribal people by the Garrison Dam.
Effective 16 December 2010 individuals must possess at least 1/8th degree blood of the Mandan, Hidatsa, or Arikara ancestry (the equivalent of one full-blooded great-grandparent) to become an enrolled member of the MHA Nation and 1/4th degree blood of the Mandan, Hidatsa, or Arikara ancestry to run for the Tribal Business Council.
The Fort Berthold Indian Reservation sits atop the Bakken Formation, the second most-productive geographic area for shale oil production in the United States.
