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American Indian Experience
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| Earthlodge Village, New Town |
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North Dakota's individual tribes have distinct and different origins, histories and languages. Plains Indians are united by core beliefs and values that emanate from respect for the earth and an understanding of humankind's relationship with nature. The tribes which have had a great influence on today's North Dakota are the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, the Yanktonai, Sisseton, Wahpeton, Hunkpapa and other Dakotah/Lakotah (commonly known as the Sioux) Tribes, along with the Pembina Chippewa, Cree and Métis.
Visitors are welcome to explore the reservations and discover the beauty of Indian culture.
A few notable American Indian historic attractions in North Dakota include:
One new attraction to be explored is the Earthlodge Village at New Town, on the north shore of Lake Sakakawea. Visitors can even camp in the earthlodges and teepees.
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Mandan, Hidatsa & Arikara Nations
Story of the People
The Mandan and Hidatsa, and later Arikara tribes, lived-peaceful lives in earthlodges along the Knife and Missouri rivers. By 1862, diseases like smallpox wiped out entire villages, forcing survivors to band with other groups. The three tribes came together in Like-a-Fishhook Village, but maintained tribal identity. The Fort Laramie Treaty established the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in 1851. The reservation's 12-million acres stretched from the Missouri to beyond the Yellowstone River in Montana. Politics in the late 1800's reduced the size of the reservation to about one million acres.
The Reservation Today
The Fort Berthold Reservation straddles the north and south shores of Lake Sakakawea, named after the Indian woman who accompanied the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Communities on the 980,000-acre reservation include Twin Buttes, White Shield, Mandaree, New Town and Parshall. There are about 10,400 members enrolled with the Three Affiliated Tribes. Cattle ranching and farming are important to the economy, as well as some tribe-owned businesses in New Town and Mandaree. The 4 Bears Casino & Lodge employs about 400 people.
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Standing Rock Nation
Story of the People
The Standing Rock Nation is part of the Lakota/Dakotah/Nakotah nation that once controlled a vast area from the James River in North and South Dakota to the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming. When gold was discovered in 1874, Congress claimed the Black Hills and the vast country occupied by the Teton Lakota people. The area was broken into six smaller reservations including Standing Rock Reservation, home of the Yanktonai, and Hunkpapa bands of Teton Lakota, as well as other Teton Lakota nations.
The Reservation Today
The 2.3-million acre reservation, bordered by Lake Oahe on the east, covers all of Sioux County in North Dakota, and Corson, Campbell, Perkins and Walworth counties in South Dakota. North Dakota communities on the reservation are Cannon Ball, Fort Yates, Porcupine, Solen, and Selfridge. There are about 13,900 enrolled members in the Standing Rock Tribe. The Tribe owns two casinos, Prairie Knights in North Dakota and Grand River in South Dakota, employing more than 500 people. Ranching is also an important part of the economy, including a tribe-owned bison herd.
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Spirit Lake Nation
Story of the People
This is one nation with several different language dialects but only slightly differing cultures. The tribe migrated to the Great Plains from near Lake Superior and by the early 1800's dominated the northern plains. In 1867, a treaty established about 245,000 acres for the Fort Totten Reservation in Benson, Nelson, Eddy and Ramsey counties.
The Reservation Today
Many Dakota/Lakotah people, including Sisseton, Wahpeton and Yanktonai, now live at Fort Totten near the south shore of Devils Lake. There are about 4,900 members enrolled int he Spirit Lake Tribe. The tribe owns two companies, Sioux Manufacturing and Dakota Tribal Industries, each employing about 125 people. Other important employment includes the casino and bingo hall and a member-owned grocery store in Fort Totten.
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Turtle Mountain Band of Pembina Chippewa
Story of the People
The Turtle Mountain Reservation is located in Rolette County in the wooded, rolling hills of north central North Dakota. The ancestors of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa migrated from the Great Lakes in the late 1400s. Drawn by the fur trade, they became middle-men serving as trappers, voyagers, guides, and caretakers of the land. The Pembina Chippewa developed lasting relationships with the Cree and French.
Offspring of Chippewa or Cree Indians and French Canadians are known as Métis. North Dakota's first community, Pembina, was built by the Chippewa and Métis people. The Turtle Mountain Reservation was established in 1882.
The reservation is located on 46,000 acres in Rolette County and includes the community of Belcourt. The tribe has 29,161 members, of whom about 13,000 live on or near the reservation in Rolette County. The tribe operates several enterprises, such as Turtle Mountain Manufacturing, Uniband Data Processing and the Sky Dancer Hotel and Casino, which employs more than 1,000 people.
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Sissteon-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe
Story of the People
The Sisseton-Wahpeton Band is a subdivision of the eastern or Dakotah Indians. Within the three major divisions of the Dakota-Lakota-Nakota Nation, there are seven major bands, which are referred to as the Seven Council Fires. At the time of initial contact in the mid-1700s with European traders and missionaries, the Sisseton Wahpeton bands resided in villages extending from Manitoba, Canada, to the present homelands on the Lake Traverse Reservation, and further south in Minnesota and northern Iowa.
The Reservation Today
The Sisseton-Wahpeton Lake Traverse Indian Reservation, and its headquarters at Agency Village, is located primarily in South Dakota. The Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate has an enrollment of approximately 11,300 members. Over 110,000 acres span North and South Dakota including glacial lakes, coteau hills and several state parks. As a sign of respect for the alliance of the Seven Council Fires, the Sisseton and Wahpeton Bands have erected seven torches in front of Dakota Magic Casino. Each torch represents a band of the Dakota-Lakota-Nakota people and the seven district council communities on the reservation.
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The Powwow (Celebration)
The Algonquin word "pau wau" was the American Indian word some of the
first Europeans associated with dancing. Although pau wau meant
"he dreams" to the Algonquins, the term was eventually accepted by the
Europeans to refer to dancing, later being spelled "powwow".
Powwows were originally held in the springtime to celebrate the
beginning of new life, but are now held throughout the year. The
celebrations often have religious significance, but are also a time for
people to gather, sing, dance, feast, pray, renew old friendships and
make new ones. These celebrations are still an important part of
life for many American Indians.
The Grand Entry opens the parade of dancers and is a time for contestants to score points by displaying their style and regalia. Dancers always enter the arbor and dance sun-wise, or clockwise, around an eagle staff. The types of dance are as varied as the colors in the costumes.
- Men's Traditional Dancer - Decorated with bead and quillwork and a circular bustle of eagle feathers. Portrays the traditional "dancing out" of the story of a battle or a hunt.
- Men's Grass Dancer - Outfitted with colorful fringe and dancing in movements that resemble grass blowing in the prairie breeze.
- Men's Fancy Dancer - Wears two brilliantly colored feather bustles, displays fancy footwork, speed, acrobatic steps and spinning motions.
- Northern Plains Women's Traditional Dancer - Moves subtly, bending her knees in small up and down body movements, while shifting her feet and turning her body slightly. Some traditions say the movement symbolizes a woman watching for her warrior to come home.
- Women's Fancy Shawl Dancer - Wears decorative cloth dress, beaded moccasins with matching leggings, fancy shawl, and jewelry. Her dance suggests the movement of a butterfly and is similar to the men's freestyle dance.
- Jingle Dress Dancer - Outfitted in hundreds of small, jingling metal cones, traditionally made of snuff can covers. In one account, women wearing jingle dresses appeared to a holy man in a dream and taught him how to create the dress, the dance and its music.
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| Visitors join dancers at the Little Shell Powwow, New Town / photo by Jason Lindsey |
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Annual Powwows and Other Events
Annual Pow-Wow schedules:
Mid-Winter Pow-Wow, New Town
New Year's Eve Day
Memorial Day Wacipi, McLaughlin, S.D.
First weekend in June
Flag Day Wacipi, Cannon Ball
Second weekend in June
Fort Union Trading Post Rendezvous, Williston
Third weekend in June
Twin Buttes Powwow, Twin Buttes
Third weekend in June
Paha Yamini Wacipi, Porcupine, S.D.
Third weekend in June
Nux-Bah-Ga Powwow, Parshall
Last weekend in June
Bear Soldier Wacipi, McLaughlin, S.D.
First weekend in July
Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Powwow, Agency Village, S.D.
Fourth of July weekend
Arikara Celebration, White Shield
Second weekend in July
Mandaree Annual Powwow, Mandaree
Third weekend in July
Running Antelope Wacipi, Little Eagle, S.D.
Fourth weekend in July
Fort Totten Days Powwow, Fort Totten
Fourth weekend in July
Northern Plains Indian Culture Fest, Stanton
Fourth weekend in July
Long Soldier Wacipi, Fort Yates
First weekend in August
Little Shell Powwow, New Town
Second weekend in August
Rock Creek Wacipi, Bullhead, S.D.
Second weekend in August
Wakpala Wacipi, Wakpala, S.D.
Third weekend in August
Nue'ta (Mandan) Corn Festival, Mandan
Third weekend in August
Turtle Mountain Annual Powwow, Belcourt
Labor Day weekend in September
United Tribes International Powwow, Bismarck
Second weekend in September
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