"Gerald "Tex" Fox held a microphone in his hand as he introduced members of the Hidatsa Black Mouth Society.

It had been more than a half-century since anyone had seen a member of this once revered and prestigious society. But in recent months, Mandaree community members decided to revive the society that had all but faded into history books.

"We know it doesn't have the full power it had years ago," Fox said. "But we're going to work with the community. They're not here for show. They'll be doing security of the camp as a whole."

Fox spoke to citizens of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, who had gathered deep in the heart of the Mandaree community on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River.

On this day, the people listened to him as they sat under a tree-branch-covered arbor near a newly constructed earth lodge. The two-day encampment marked the community's commemoration of the day Sacagawea returned to the Hidatsa homelands 200 years ago this August."

Get the Story:
Revival of Black Mouth Society shows value of culture (The Billings Gazette 8/20)

Relevant Links:
Jodi Rave - http://www.missoulian.com/jodirave

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