For tribes, it's the Calvary to the Corps

FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2002

Members of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation of North Dakota still feel the effects of a decades-old decision to build the Garrison Dam on the Missouri River.

The 1948 project flooded tribal lands, destroyed burial sites and forever changed tribal culture. "First came the cavalry and they took our land. Then they changed their name to the Corps of Engineers, and they still take, take and they keep taking till this day. And now we have nothing and have lost our way of life," elder Celina Mossett told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The tribes and upstream states are seeking a return to natural flows of the river. Downstream states want the water to stay the way it is.

Get the Story:
River debate renews tribes' bitterness (The St. Louis Post-Dispatch 8/16)