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The following articles are taken from the Teachers Manual (K-6) which were developed for During prehistoric times, various Indian groups occupied the area that is now North Dakota. Their tribal affiliations are not clear, but their culture was directly related to the Plains culture of the more recent tribal groups. It has been ascertained that at some period in the state's history, the Arikara (Ree), Assiniboin (Nakota), Cheyenne, Plains, Cree, Crow and Dakota (Sioux), occupied this area. In more recent times, the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara have relocated in the northwestern part of the state, and currently occupy the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. In the north central part of the state, the Plains Chippewa occupy the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation and Dakota (Yanktonai, Wahpeton and Sisseton branches) live on the Fort Totten Indian Reservation, The Dakota (mostly Yanktonai) occupy the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in the south central part of the state. The other earlier tribal occupants have either merged into these latter groups or are living in other states. CHIPPEWA The name of Chippewa is popular adaptation of the name Ojibway, one of the largest Algonquian tribes whose former range was on both shores of Lake Huron and Lake Superior. According to authentic records, they were living at Sault St. Marie in 1642 and were at that time at war with the people living west of them. They obtained firearms from the traders at an early date and commenced moving westward. Eventually, they drove most of the Sioux from Minnesota and, after 1800, moved into northern and eastern North Dakota in company with the fur traders, who were exploiting that region. The Chippewa were friendly with the white traders and settlers and intermarried with them frequently. The Metis or half-breeds became one of the most colorful people of the northern Great Plains, and admirably adapted their life and culture to the environment of the area. Presently, the Chippewa are living on a reservation in the Turtle Mountains. Turtle Mountain Reservation In 1863 the Red Lake and Pembina bands of Chippewa turned over all lands they held in North Dakota. The treaty, signed by the Red Lake and Pembina bands, provided for the cession of a strip of land in the northeastern part of the state. This strip was occupied by the Turtle Mountain band, who claimed they had held this land before 1863. They refused to recognize this treaty, and their claim was recognized by the Federal Government. In 1882, pressure on the government from the non-Indians lead to the restoration of 9 million acres of land to the public domain without any consent of, or payments of any kind to the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. This tribe immediately sent a group to Washington to present their claims which succeeded in having a tract of land withdrawn from sale and settlement. In 1882 the land, 32 miles by 24 miles, was set apart as a reservation for the Turtle Mountain Chippewa. In 1884, 20 townships, designated as the reservation, were returned to the public domain. In 1982 an agreement had been reached, whereby the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa were divested of their rights for the consideration of $1,000,000 for 10,000,000 acres. Williams County Metis Prior to 1887 the Metis people were living throughout the North Central Plains of the U.S., from the Great Lakes to the Rockies and north to Hudson's Bay in Canada. In 1886 the Metis learned of a treaty between the U.S. government and the Turtle Mountain Chippewa. They then returned to Turtle Mountain, registering as members of the tribe to which they had once belonged. Many of the Metis were recognized as members of the tribe. When allotments of the land designated to the Turtle Mountain reservation were made, the government found the reserve was not large enough. Thus, some of the people were given land in western North Dakota, mostly in Williams County. Many Metis gave up their land on or near the reserve, packed up their belongings along with what animals they had, and went to the new land. MANDAN Although the Mandan are of Siouan stock, they differ from the Sioux or Dakota in their mode of life and material culture. The early history of the Mandan tribe appears to be scant and, in some instances, entirely mythological. According to their traditions, they lived in an easterly region, in the vicinity of a large lake or near the sea. It is believed that they may have moved northwestward across the Mississippi Valley, and there is reason to believe that they first reached the Missouri River near the mouth of the White Earth River in South Dakota. From this point, they gradually moved northward by successive stages. During this gradual movement up the Missouri, they constructed many earth lodge villages and occupied some of them for long periods of time. We do not know when the first Mandans may have appeared on the land now known as North Dakota, but we have reason to believe that they may have been here for over 500 years. Over the early years, enemy attacks and disease had reduced the number of their tribe considerably. The small pox epidemic of 1837 reduced the Mandans to such an extent that the remnant of the tribe consolidated with the Hidatsa and moved with this latter tribe to the Fort Berthold Reservation, where the Arikara later joined them. ARIKARA The Arikara are of Caddoan stock and are closely related to the Skidi Pawnee of Nebraska. This group originated in the South and gradually worked their way northward up the Missouri River. The French fur traders found the Arikara located on the Cheyenne River, in South Dakota, in 1770, but Lewis and Clark found them living in the vicinity of the Grand River, also in South Dakota, in 1804. The Arikara were, on the whole, friendly with the white people, but after an engagement with a group of fur traders under the leadership of Ashley in 1822, they were driven from their village on Cottonwood Creek, by General Leavenworth in 1823. They were not settled in a permanent village for some time after this date, but later moved up to the Fort Clark village in 1838, and finally to the Fort Berthold village in 1862, where they became allied with the Mandan and the Hidatsa. They are presently living on the Fort Berthold Reservation. HIDATSA The Hidatsa are of Siouan stock and, according to their traditions, the tribe came to the Missouri River from the northeast and are said to have joined the Mandan in the Heart River area. There is some question among authorities concerning the origin of the Hidatsa culture, but it is believed by many ethnologists that they adopted the culture of the Mandan. We do know that since the time both tribes occupied the area in the vicinity of the Heart River, they have been firm allies, and their lives and cultures have been identical in many respects. The Hidatsa are now living on the Fort Berthold Reservation. Fort Berthold Reservation In 1851 the Fort Laramie Treaty was written, establishing a reservation for the Gros Ventres (Hidatsa), Mandan and Arikara. Four Bears signed for the Hidatsa, Iron Bear signed for Arikara and White Wolf for the Mandan. In 1886 the U.S. congress passed the Dawes Bill. This bill provides for the parceling of lands to individual Indians. Rations and clothing, in addition to lands, were to be distributed to them. The Indian Reorganization Act, accepted by the people of Fort Berthold in 1934, provided for tribal self-government under their own constitution any bylaws. In 1946 work was started on the Garrison Dam. The first power from the new plant was delivered in 1956. Before the dam was built and the reservoir created, 90% of the reservation's population lived within the Missouri Valley where the best agricultural land was found. Creating the reservoir necessitated massive relocation to higher ground. TETON DAKOTA These people were familiarly known as the Western Sioux. They were formerly a forest people living in Wisconsin and Minnesota, having been driven from this area by the Chippewa. Father Hennepin stated that they were living near the falls of St. Anthony in 1680. Although they preceded their kinsmen, the Yanktonai, in their westward journey, very few of them had crossed to the west side of the Missouri River before 1750. In 1804, Lewis and Clark found them near the Teton and Cheyenne Rivers in South Dakota. They gradually spread westward, and eventually claimed western South Dakota, southwestern North Dakota and parts of Wyoming, Montana and Nebraska. The Teton Sioux included the following bands: Oglala, Brule, Blackfeet, Miniconjou, Sans Arc, Two Kettle and Hunkpapa. Each of the these bands had their own chiefs and operated as separate units, although they did unite to attack their hereditary enemies, and against the encroachment of the whites. Many well-known chiefs or leaders were members of the Teton Sioux, such as Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, Gall and Sitting Bull. YANKTONAI DAKOTA The Yanktonai, one of the largest branches of the Dakota or Siouan race, were originally a forest people living in Minnesota near Mill Lac and adjacent areas at an early date. They were driven from this area by the Chippewa, whose early contact with white traders provided them with firearms, against which the Sioux could not cope. The Yanktonai were found on the headwaters of the Sioux, the James and the Red Rivers. In 1855, they were located between the James River and the Missouri River and north to Devils Lake. It would appear that the Yanktonai were not confined to these areas. On the whole, the Yanktonai were peaceable towards the non-Indians and did not participate in the Minnesota Uprising, nor the Indian Wars of 1876. Most of the Yanktonai were assigned to the Standing Rock Reservation in North and South Dakota. The Sisseton and Wahpeton Sioux, who were representatives of the Santee Dakota, may have been found in the extreme southeastern part of the state in limited numbers. Comparatively few, however, were found in North Dakota until they were driven from Minnesota after the uprising of 1862. Dakota Indians belonging to the Santee group were assigned to a reservation at Fort Totten, North Dakota. Standing Rock Reservation The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, made with the Indians by the United States government, agreed to keep non-Indians from hunting or settling on Indian territory, to abandon the proposed trail east, and to pay annuities for appropriated Indian lands. It also established a great Sioux Reservation which was to include all of what is now South Dakota west of the Missouri River. The Indians were to release all lands east of the Missouri, except for the Crow Creek, Yankton and Lake Traverse (Sisseton) reservations. By the end of 1868 nearly half of the Sioux were gathered onto reservations. In 1868, an Agency for the Standing Rock Sioux was established at Ashley Island above the mouth of the Grand River at the Missouri River. The Agency was moved to Fort Yates, North Dakota, in 1873, causing the Indians to abandon 650 acres under cultivation at the Grand River Agency. Fort Totten Reservation The Fort Totten Indian reservation was set up in a treaty between the U.S. Government and the Sisseton, Wahpeton and Cut-head Sioux in 1867. When the fort was built, there were no Indians in the area. In the winter of 1868, two traders with an interpreter traveled to the Mouse River, inviting the Sioux to go into Fort Totten. A small force of warriors indicated the invitation had been made in good faith, and the Indians began to move into the fort. Their move to the fort may have been a result of their starving condition at the time. By 1870, the U.S. Agent on the Sisseton Indian Agency recommended that Fort Totten have its own Indian agent. Thus, in 1871, Major William Forbes, the Catholic Mission established a school on Fort Totten Reservation. When the soldiers left Fort Totten in 1890, the entire fort was turned over the Department of the Interior. After much remodeling of buildings, it was made into a school for the Devils Lake Sioux and Turtle Mountain Chippewa. It was finally abolished in 1959. NOTE: The five tribes within North Dakota are now known as: Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Spirit Lake Nation (Ft. Totten), Three Affiliated Tribes (Ft. Berthold), Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe. The Indian tribes which inhabited the territory now known as North Dakota, have been intimately associated with the history of this area for hundreds of years and some knowledge of their culture and distribution is essential to the study of North Dakota history. It should be emphasized at the outset that the land claimed by Indian tribes did not have definite boundaries as we understand them today. As a rule, an Indian did not consider the acquisition of wealth as a desirable goal, and except for his immediate needs, land and natural resources were considered to be the common property of all the people. Each tribe claimed certain areas for its homes and hunting grounds, but quite often the areas claimed by tribes would overlap and conflicts were frequent. The boundaries of land claimed by individual tribes were by no means constant, and the history of the Indians in this area contains many references to tribes driving out their neighbors, and in turn being driven out by more powerful people. In addition to those forced migrations, many tribes voluntarily moved to new locations to seek a more favorable environment. The materials you have just read were taken from the American Indian Curriculum Development Program of United Tribes Technical College. The kindergarten through twelve curricula was organized and produced by the Indian Tribes of North Dakota. Every piece of material gathered, has been authenticated and given the stamp of approval by representatives from each North Dakota Reservation. All materials produced by AICDP has been approved and endorsed by the North Dakota State Department of Public Instruction.
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