US Government Documents related to Indigenous Nations

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  Reimbursement of the Fort Berthold Indians of North Dakota

  United States Congress and US House of Representatives

  In this report, dated June 4, 1940, also known as United States (US) House Report 2374, submitted by US Congressman Usher L. Burdick of North Dakota, the Committee on Indian Affairs recommends passage of US Senate Bill 414 "for the relief of the Indians of the Forth Berthold Reservation in North Dakota," with one amendment, that, on page 2, line 4, "10" should be struck and replaced with "5".

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  A Bill To amend Public Law Numbered 383, Seventy-third Congress (48 Stat. L. 984), relating to Indians, by exempting from the provisions of such Act any Indian tribe or reservation in the State of North Dakota.

  United States Congress and US House of Representatives

  This United States (US) House of Representatives resolution (HR), dated January 25, 1939, proposes to exempt all Indian tribes of North Dakota from the provisions of US Public Law 73-383, also known as the Indian Reorganization Act or the Wheeler-Howard Act. It was introduced by US Representative Usher L. Burdick from North Dakota, and was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.

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  Reimbursement of the Fort Berthold Indians of North Dakota

  United States Congress and US Senate

  This report, dated February 21, 1939, also known as United States (US) Senate Report 78, was issued by the US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to accompany US Senate Bill 414. In this report, the committee recommends passage of the bill, and provides background on the origins of the bill and it's decision to recommend passage.

  See also:

  An Act for the Relief of the Indians of the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota [internal note: ms. 1115]

  Reimbursement of the Fort Berthold Indians of North Dakota [internal note: ms. 1021]

  United State Senate Bill 414

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  Repeal of the So-Called Wheeler-Howard Act

  United States Congress and US Senate

  This report from the United States (US) Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, dated August 2, 1939, was written to accompany US Senate Bill 2103 which proposed a repeal of the Wheeler-Howard Act, also known as the Indian Reorganization Act (US Public Law 383). The report includes a summary of reasons why the act should be repealed as well as correspondences from the US Department of the Interior and the US Committee on Indian Affairs discussing the Indian Reorganization Act and the proposed repeal. US Senate Bill 2103 did not become public law.

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  Corporate Charter of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota. Ratified April 24, 1937.

  Harold Ickes

  This Corporate Charter, submitted April 1, 1937 by United States (US) Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes to the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold Reservation for ratification, lays out the corporate and economic rights of the Tribes as an autonomous group.

  The charter was ratification by the Tribes on August 7, 1937 and certified by tribal chairman Arthur Mandan and superintendent in charge of the reservation W. R. Beyer.

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  Constitution and Bylaws of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota

  George W. Grinnell, Arthur Mandan, and Peter H. Beauchamp

  This document, published October 12 1936, is the Constitution and Bylaws of the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota. This constitution was drafted in response to the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (also known as the Wheeler-Howard Act) which purported to give Indigenous tribes in the United States more freedom to self-govern. This document outlines tribal sovereignty and governing issues including territory, membership, governing body, nominations and elections, vacancies and removal from office, powers, referendum, land, amendments, officer duties, salaries, meetings of council, and adoption of constitution and bylaws. The constitution is signed by George W. Grinnell (Chairman of Election Board), Authur Mandan (Chairman of Business Council), and Peter H. Beauchamp (Secretary). Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes recommended approval of the constitution on June 29, 1936.

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  An Act to Conserve and Develop Indian Lands and Resources; to Extend to Indians the Right to Form Business and Other Organizations; to Establish a Credit System for Indians; to Grant Certain Rights of Home Rule to Indians; to Provide for Vocational Education for Indians, and for Other Purposes

  United States Congress

  This United States (US) public law, also known as the Indian Reorganization Act, the Wheeler-Howard Act, or the Indian New Deal, passed on June 18, 1934 in response to the Meriam Report which revealed immense poverty and poor living conditions among Indigenous People on reservations. The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) aimed to alleviate these conditions with several corrective measures, notably by stopping the allotment of reservation land and by allowing tribes to organize under their own tribal governments. The IRA was heavily influenced by the recommendations contained in the Meriam Report. While this public law aimed to reduce poverty on reservations and to loosen federal governance on Indigenous tribes, the Great Depression made it difficult to allocate enough funding to fully address the dire economic situation on most reservations and the tribal adoption of US-style constitutions created internal tension for some tribes.

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  An Act to Further Extend the Times for Commencement and Completing the Construction of a Bridge Across the Missouri River at or Near Garrison, North Dakota

  United States Congress

  This United States (US) Public Law, dated June 12, 1934, also known as Public Law 73-320, allows additional time for the commencement and completion of the construction of a bridge over the Missouri River at or near Garrison, North Dakota. The new deadlines for commencement and completion of construction are one and three years, respectively, from February14, 1934.

  See also: "Bridge across the Missouri River near Garrison, N. Dak. May 10 (calendar day, May 23), 1934. -- Ordered to be printed." [internal note: manuscript 1086]

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  Bridge across the Missouri River near Garrison, N. Dak. May 10 (calendar day, May 23), 1934. -- Ordered to be printed

  United States Congress and US Senate

  In this report, dated May 10, 1934, also known as United State (US) Senate Report 1098, the US Senate Committee on Commerce recommends passage, without amendment, of US H.R. 9320 ("To further extend the times for commencement and completing the construction of a bridge across the Missouri River at or near Garrison, N.Dak.")

  See also:

  "To Further Extend the Times for Commencement and Completing the Construction of a Bridge across the Missouri River at or near Garrison, North Dakota" [internal note: manuscript 1081]

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  Dedicating Monument to Four Bears Bridge

  United States Department of the Interior and US Bureau of Indian Affairs

  This photographic print, likely taken in 1934, depicts the dedication of the Four Bears Bridge Monument. The photo shows a large crowd surrounding an odalisque with an American flag flying prominently to the left of the monument. The monument was dedicated to the original Four Bears Bridge in Elbowoods in 1934.

  Original print housed at the National Archives Catalogue in Kansas City, Missouri in the “Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs” group. The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation are noted as “subjects represented” in the collection. National Archives identifier number: 45614545; local identifier: 75-FB-598.

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  An Act to expedite the construction of public buildings and works outside of the district of Columbia by enabling possession and title of sites to be taken in advance of final judgment in proceedings for the acquisition thereof under the power of eminent domain

  US Congress

  This act, dated February 26, 1931, also known as United States (US) Public Law 71-736, sets out the conditions under which the United States may take possession and title of a property for public use before a final judgment has been rendered in a proceeding in which the property is being acquired under the power of eminent domain.

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  The Problem of Indian Administration: Report of a Survey Made at the Request of Honorable Hubert Work, Secretary of the Interior, and Submitted to Him, February 21, 1928

  Lewis Meriam

  This report, published February 21, 1928, supervised by Lewis Meriam and known colloquially as "The Meriam Report," is a general survey of the living conditions of Indigenous tribes in 26 US states. The study was conducted at the request of the United States Department of the Interior and took 7 months to complete. The study was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. The study reported major issues in health, living conditions, employment, and general economic stability among the United State’s Indigenous nations. The report contains detailed chapters on each of the major issues investigated and includes recommendations for action. Although the recommendations in the Meriam Report spurred legislation that aimed to correct the economic hardship and suffering of Indigenous people in the United States, the tone of the report is paternalistic and often derogatory.

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  Mandan and Hidatsa Music

  Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, and Frances Densmore

  This ethnographic study, dated January 1, 1924, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution Bureau of Ethnography presents information about the social and ceremonial significance of music to the Mandan and Hidatsa tribes as collected by anthropologist Frances Densmore from the Fort Berthold Reservation in 1912, 1915, and 1918. This study was conducted at the behest of the State Historical Society of North Dakota. The collection includes a catalogue of songs, a description of customs, legends, folk tales, societies, and photographs of musical instruments, some tribal members, earth lodges and other structures.

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  An Act to Authorize the Secretary of the Interior to Issue Certificates of Citizenship to Indians

  United States Congress

  This public law, also known as the Indian Citizenship Act or the Snyder Act, passed on June 2, 1924, provided United States citizenship to all Indigenous people born in the United States.

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  An Act to Authorize the Survey and Allotment of Lands Embraced Within the Limits of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in the State of North Dakota, and the Sale and Disposition of a Portion of the Surplus Lands after Allotment, and Making Appropriation and Provision to Carry the Same into Effect

  United States Congress

  This United States (US) public law (US Public Law 61-197) authorizes the allotment of land on the Fort Berthold Reservation, which is home to the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara tribes.

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  An Act To Authorize the Survey and Allotment of Lands Embraced Within the Limits of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, in the State of North Dakota, and the Sale and Disposition of a Portion of the Surplus Lands After Allotment, and Making Appropriation and Provision to Carry the Same into Effect

  United States Congress

  This Act, dated June 1, 1910, also known as United States (US) Public law 61-197, authorizes and directs the US Secretary of the Interior to cause to be surveyed, and to sell and dispose of all the "surplus" unallotted and unreserved lands within the portion of the Forth Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota lying east and north of the Missouri River.

  Numerous provisions included in the Act cover such topics as the reserving of lands on which coal or other minerals have been discovered, the allowing of tribal members to relinquish allotments in the area described and select allotments from an area in which additional allotments are to be made, the making of additional allotments of agricultural or grazing land to tribal members, the reserving of land for agency, school and religious purposes, the preservation of the ruins of the old Fort Berthold Indian village and adjacent burial grounds, the opening of the lands described to settlement under town-site and homestead laws, the reserving of timber lands for the use by the tribes, the crediting of the tribes with the proceeds from the sale of the described lands, and a great number of other details and considerations.

  This public law later caused confused as to whether the northeast quadrant of the Fort Berthold Reservation was still part of the reservation. The 1972 case “The City of New Town, North Dakota v. US” clarified that the northeast quadrant remains part of the reservation. The 1992 and 1994 cases “Duncan Energy v. Three Affiliated Tribes” both affirmed this boundary clarification as well.

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  An Act to Authorize the Survey and Allotment of Lands Embraced within the Limits of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, in the State of North Dakota, and the Sale and Disposition of a Portion of the Surplus Lands after Allotment, and Making Appropriations and Provisions to Carry the Same into Effect

  United States Congress

  This United States (US) public law, passed on June 1, 1910, allowed the US Secretary of the Interior to survey and sell or dispose of the “surplus” unallotted land east and north of the Missouri River on the Fort Berthold Reservation. This public law later caused confused as to whether the northeast quadrant of the Fort Berthold Reservation was still part of the reservation. The 1972 case “The City of New Town, North Dakota v. US” clarified that the northeast quadrant remains part of the reservation. The 1992 and 1994 cases “Duncan Energy v. Three Affiliated Tribes” both affirmed this boundary clarification as well.

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  An Act Granting to the Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway Company the Right of Way Through Indian Reservations in Northern Montana and Northwestern Dakota

  Charles J. Kappler

  This 1904 reprint was transcribed and published in vol. I of Charles Kappler’ Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties. Approved on February 15, 1887, this act granted the Saint Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba Railway Company the right of way to build its railroad through the Fort Berthold and Blackfeet Indian Reservations.

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  Law of 1891 (Kappler)

  Charles J. Kappler

  This 1904 reprint of the Law of 1891 was published in vol. I of Charles Kappler’s Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties. Passed by Congress on March 3, 1891, this law reduced the size of the Fort Berthold Reservation and provided for individual land allotments, in which the government would hold the title for twenty-five years. In addition, this law permitted the US government to open the lands acquired to settlement under the provisions of the homestead laws.

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  Treaty with the Arikara Tribe (Ricara), 1825

  Charles J. Kappler, Henry Atkinson, and Benjamin O'Fallon

  This 1904 reprint of Ratified Indian Treaty 133: Arikara (Ricara), titled the Treaty with the Arikara (Ricara) Tribe, 1825 was transcribed and published in vol. II of Charles Kappler’s Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties. Signed on July 18, 1825, this treaty was the first major treaty between the US Government and representatives of the Arikara Nation. Also known as the Atkinson and O'Fallon Trade and Intercourse Treaty of 1825, this document was part of a series of friendship treaties between Henry Atkinson and Benjamin O’Fallon’s Indian Peace Commission and the Indigenous Nations beyond the Mississippi River. In this treaty, the Arikara acknowledged the supremacy of the United States, which successively promised them peace, friendship, and protection. The Arikara also admitted that they resided within the territorial limits of the United States and that it had the right to regulate all trade and intercourse with them. The treaty further states that the Arikara agreed to use the laws of the United States to prevent or redress any injuries done by individuals, both American and Indigenous.

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  An Act to Provide for the Allotment of Lands in Severalty to Indians on the Various Reservations (Kappler) (Kappler)

  Charles J. Kappler and Henry L. Dawes

  This 1904 transcription of “An Act to Provide for the Allotment of Lands in Severalty to Indians on the Various Reservations," also knows the General Allotment Act or the Dawes Act of 1887 was printed in vol. I of Charles Kappler’s Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties. Originally passed on February 8, 1887, this act authorized the US government to break up reservations and tribal lands, previously held in common, into individual plots. Aimed at assimilating Indigenous people into white society, this act promoted agriculture and grazing by allotting tribal members or families who registered a portion of reservation land outlined in the document. Furthermore, this document granted American citizenship to those who accepted the division of tribal lands.

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  Agreement at Fort Berthold, 1866 and Addenda.

  Charles J. Kappler, Newton Edmunds, Samuel R. Curtis, Orrin Guernsey, and Henry W. Reed

  This 1904 reprint of the unratified treaty with the Arikara, Mandan, and Hidatsa, was reprinted as the Agreement at Fort Berthold, 1866, in vol. II of Charles Kappler’s Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties. Originally signed on July 27, 1866, at Fort Berthold, Dakota Territory, this treaty and its Addenda were a set of agreements between the US government and representatives of the Arikara, Mandan, and Hidatsa Nations. In this document, the Arikara, Mandan, and Hidatsa agreed to cede a portion of their land on the east bank of the Missouri River and granted a right-of-way for roads through their land in return for annuities and other payments. Notably, this treaty is among the first documents to recognize the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara as being united and acting in common with the United States.

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  Executive Order of 1870 (Kappler)

  Charles J. Kappler, Ulysses S. Grant, Samuel A. Wainwright, Ely S. Parker, and Jacob D. Cox

  This 1904 reprint of President Ulysses S. Grant’s 1870 Executive Order was transcribed and published in vol. I of Charles Kappler’s Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties. In addition to Grant’s executive order setting apart a reservation for the Arikara, Gros Ventre (Hidatsa), and Mandan, this document includes Captain Wainwright’s Proposal recommending a reservation for the three tribes, E.S. Parker’s Response, and J.D. Cox’s forward to the president.

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  Proclamation 305—Fort Berthold Reservation in the State of North Dakota

  Charles J. Kappler and Benjamin Harrison

  This 1904 reprint of President Benjamin Harrison’s 1891 proclamation was transcribed and published in vol. I of Charles Kappler’s Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties. Originally signed on May 20, 1891, this proclamation announced that the “Law of 1891,” passed by US Congress on March 3, 1891, was accepted, ratified, and confirmed.

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  President Harrison's Executive Order, 1892 (Kappler)

  Charles J. Kappler and Benjamin Harrison

  This 1904 reprint of President Benjamin Harrison’s 1892 Executive Order was transcribed and published in vol. I of Charles Kappler’s Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties. Signed on June 17, 1892, this executive order increased the size of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation by withdrawing a portion of Township 147 from sale or settlement.