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The Mandans amalgamated with their neighbours, the Hidatsa, after both tribes had been devastated by the smallpox epidemic of 1837/8.

The Hidatsa were not as severely affected as the Mandans, so they would have formed the larger part of the affiliated tribe. The new tribe moved from their villages at the mouth of the Knife River up the Missouri and settled around the fur trading post of the American Fur Company which was named Fort Berthold after the founder of the company, a Tyrolean called Bartholomew Berthold. The Indians called the area "Like-a-fishhook Bend" after a bend in the Missouri River.

The Arikara Tribe joined the Mandan-Hidatsa in 1862 and the three tribes have lived continuously in the area now designated the Fort Berthold Reservation since that date. The tribes are now known as the Three Affiliated tribes.

Keith Bear in Mandan Tribal Dress

The original area designated to the tribes has been substantially reduced over the years and the final reduction came when the Garrison Dam was constructed 30 miles downstream from the easternmost boundary of the Fort Berthold Reservation. It was commenced in 1946 and completed in 1955. The reservoir behind the dam took 155,000 acres from the 600,000 acre reservation. However, it took all the best agricultural land, forced the relocation of 90% of the people and split the reservation into five distinct and separate segments. Small reservation communities around the lake are the homelands of the respective tribes: Twin Buttes - Mandan; Mandaree - Hidatsa; White Shield - Arikara
They normally hold the following calendar of events:

  • Twin Buttes Pow-wow Celebration: - 3rd weekend in June

  • White Shield Pow-wow Celebration: - 2nd weekend in July

  • Mandaree Pow-wow Celebration: - 3rd weekend in July

  • Little Shell Pow-wow Celebration: - 2nd weekend in August

The Little Shell Pow-wow is the highlight of the summer on the Fort Berthold Reservation. It is a "must-see" event when tribes across the Northern Plains and Canada gather to renew friendships and compete in singing and dancing contests.

Keith Bear with
Howard Kimberley
For more information contact:

Three Tribes Museum,
PO Box 147,
New Town,
ND 58763
(701) 627 - 4477
Contact Me: howard@madoc1170.com
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