"Another heated dispute between North Dakota and the Three Affiliated Tribes on the Fort Berthold Reservation is bubbling to the surface.
It's not a new issue. It involves 24,000 access acres around Lake Sakakawea in the western part of the state. Long before the issue of "too much land" around the lake became the problem in fact, way back when the Army Corps of Engineers built the dam that created the lake the engineers measured more land than they needed. The lake didn't fill the land area marked for it, so there was a good, wide lakeshore.
Years later, downstream needs caused Lake Sakakawea to give up more water, and she slimmed down some more, leaving an even wider and bigger belt around her lakeshore.
So, the question of the day is this: Who owns that land or has jurisdiction the Three Affiliated Tribes, the state, American Indian individual owners or non-Indian individual owners?
I support the tribe's governance over the 24,000 acres. Here's why. The handprint left by the Sahnish (Arikara), Mandan and Hidatsa people is indelible. They lived along and near many rivers of the Midwest, making many moves to find new and better places to live or get away from conflicts between tribes. Rivers such as the Missouri always have been a draw for Indians because they meet the critical need for water, and that water provides food (fish and animals), fuel, transportation and a pleasant living area."
Get the Story:Dorreen Yellow Bird: Fight over land never ends (The Grand Forks Herald 3/10)
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