Show description

Government made many promises to the Mandan in the years that followed—and broke almost all of them. The 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie set aside a huge tract of land for a reservation for the Mandan and the Hidatsa. In 1862 the Arikara agreed to join them there. 2 million hectares) set aside for the three peoples. The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara finally had a home of their own again. But their rights were never respected. S. government simply gave most of the southern half of the reservation to a company that was laying railroad tracks across the West.

In 1862 the Arikara agreed to join them there. 2 million hectares) set aside for the three peoples. The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara finally had a home of their own again. But their rights were never respected. S. government simply gave most of the southern half of the reservation to a company that was laying railroad tracks across the West. In 1910 a large section of the northeastern part of the reservation was stolen by settlers. By this time, just forty years after the creation of 34 For hundreds of years, the Mandan made their home along the Missouri River and other rivers that branched through the North Dakota prairies.

The people had to live in unfamiliar communities, such as the aptly named New Town, that were isolated and difficult to reach. Many of the ties between communities, clans, and families were broken, perhaps forever. One of the most important things that hold any people together is language—and the Mandan language was in danger of disappearing completely. By the 1990s only six fluent Mandan speakers remained, and it is possible that only one truly fluent Mandan speaker—an elderly rancher named Edwin Benson—is alive today.