"Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., held a Senate committee meeting in the tribal chambers of the Three Affiliated Tribes on July 8 in New Town, N.D. The meeting’s purpose was to discuss the transportation problems associated with the oil boom, specifically roads on the reservation (North Dakota highways 22 and 23 and Bureau of Indian Affairs Highway 6).

Marcus Levings, the Three Affiliated Tribes’ tribal chairman, testified about the roads. Some of my photographs were used to show how overcrowded the roads are.

I had to sit on my hands, because I wanted to jump up and tell my own road stories, too.

Because I commute on Highway 23 daily, and even the short distance I travel makes me appreciate the Washington, D.C., commute that I faced many years ago.

Traveling around the reservation like I do, there are places I try not to go. One is Mandaree, N.D., the Hidatsa community southwest of New Town. It is a hot spot for both oil and pipelines, so that once-serene community now is a bee hive of trucks and heavy equipment."

Get the Story:
COLUMNIST DORREEN YELLOW BIRD: Western N.D.'s highways desperately need work (The Grand Forks Herald 7/14)
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