Status of Mineral Ownership Underlying the Missouri River within the Boundaries of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation (North Dakota)

Authors

Department of the Interior
Daniel H. Jorjani, Solicitor

Congress

116th Congress, 2d Session

Files

Description

This memorandum, dated May 26, 2020, from the United States Department of the Interior (Office of the Solicitor) to the Assistant Secretary of US Indian Affairs and the Assistant Secretary of Land and Minerals Management rescinds the Solicitor’s January 18, 2017 opinion regarding mineral rights on the Fort Berthold Reservation and asserts that the state of North Dakota, not the Three Affiliated Tribes, is the legal owner of the submerged lands beneath the Missouri River. The Solicitor cites the “Historical Examination of the Missouri River within the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, Precontact-1902” and his interpretation of laws and case precedent to support this opinion.

Publication Date

5-26-2020

Keywords

Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, Mandan, Nueta, Hidatsa, Arikara, Sahnish, Garrison Dam, Garrison Reservoir, Garrison Reservoir Project, Lake Sakakawea, land back, land transfer, mineral restoration, Fort Berthold Mineral Restoration Act

Organizations Referenced

Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, Mandan, Nueta, Hidatsa, Arikara, Sahnish, US Department of the Interior, US Bureau of Indian Affairs, US Bureau of Land Management

People Referenced

Daniel H. Jorjani

Publisher

Government Printing Office

Disciplines

American Politics | Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law | Indigenous Studies | Law and Politics | Native American Studies | United States History

Related Documents

Treaty of Fort Laramie with Sioux, Etc., 1851

An Act to Provide for the Use and Distribution of Certain Funds Awarded the Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma and to Restore Certain Mineral Rights to the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation

Memorandum of Agreement Between the Department of the Interior and the Department of the Army Pursuant to Section 206(b) of the Fort Berthold Mineral Restoration Act, Public Law 98-602 (1984)

Effects Report: Potential Transfer of Garrison Project Lands Within the Fort Berthold Reservation Boundaries Pursuant to the Fort Berthold Mineral Restoration Act

Draft Effects Report: Potential Transfer of Garrison Project Lands Within the Fort Berthold Reservation Boundaries, Pursuant to the Fort Berthold Mineral Restoration Act

Interior Department and Army Corps Announce Restoration of Tribal Lands for the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation; Transfer Restores Nearly 25,000 Acres of Tribal Homelands Lost to the Garrison Dam Project

Fact Sheet: Potential Transfer of Garrison Dam/Lake Sakakawea Project Lands

Opinion Regarding the Status of Mineral Ownership Underlying the Missouri River within the Boundaries of the Fort Berthold Reservation (North Dakota) (2017)

Opinion Regarding the Status of Mineral Ownership Underlying the Missouri River Within the Boundaries of the Fort Berthold Reservation (North Dakota) (2022)

Recommended Citation

Jorjani, Daniel H., Solicitor, Department of the Interior. Status of Mineral Ownership Underlying the Missouri River within the Boundaries of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation (North Dakota) May 26, 2020. https://commons.und.edu/indigenous-gov-docs/147/.