Mandan Tribe

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Alternate Names and Spellings: "the People of the First Man"

Tribal Headquarters
Three Affiliated Tribes 404 Frontage Road New Town, ND 58763 Phone: 1.701.627.4781 Fax: 1.701.627.3503


 * MHA Nation-Three Affiliated Tribes Website

History
The Mandan are a Native American tribe that historically lived along the banks of the Missouri River and two of its tributaries—the Heart and Knife Rivers in present-day North and South Dakota.

Their first recorded contact with non-indigenous people was with the French explorer Sieur de la Verendrye in 1738. During the winter of 1804-05, the Lewis and Clark Expedition wintered with the Mandan tribe. In 1834-35, Karl Bodmer, traveling with German Prince Maximilian zu Wied, painted portraits of the Mandan.

The Mandans signed three treaties with the United States government -- the 1825 at the Mandan Village, the 1851 treaty at Laramie (Wyoming), and the unratified 1866 Treaty of Fort Berthold (see links to copies of the treaties under Records below).

The Mandan suffered a smallpox epidemic in 1837, when an estimated 1600 died. Some estimates state that only 125-150 survived and joined with the Hidatsa Tribe. By 1845, the Mandan survivors joined with the Hidatsa at Like-A-Fishhook Village near Fort Berthold. They remained at this village until it was abandoned in 1888.

A reservation for the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Tribes was set apart on 12 April 1870 by Executive Order. The reservation was located principally in present-day North Dakota, with a small portion in Montana. The Fort Berthold Reservation was later reduced to its present size.

Under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Tribes merged and incorporated under their constitution and bylaws as the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation.

Brief Timeline

 * 1738: First contact was with the French explorer Sieur de la Verendrye
 * 1804-05: Lewis and Clark Expedition wintered with the Mandan tribe
 * 1824-66: The tribe is under the jurisdiction of the Upper Missouri Agency
 * 1825 at the Mandan Village
 * 1833-34: Karl Bodmer, traveling with German Prince Maximilian zu Wied, painted portraits of the Mandan
 * 1837: Smallpox epidemic - estimated 1,600 died. Only 125 survived, these 125 joined the Hidatsa Tribe and settled on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota
 * 1845: merge with the Hidatsa at Like-A-Fishhook Village near to Fort Berthold
 * 1851 Fort Laramie with Sioux, etc.
 * 1866 at Fort Berthold (unratified)
 * 1867-80: The tribe is under the jurisdiction of the Fort Berthold Agency
 * 1870: Fort Berthold agency and reservation established for the tribes of: Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara.
 * 1888: Like-A-Fishhook Village is abandoned
 * 1936: The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Tribes consolidated as the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation
 * 1951-1954: The Tribe is relocated for construction of Garrison Dam and reservoir

Additional References to the History of the Tribe

 * Frederick Webb Hodge, in his Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, gave a more complete history of the Mandan tribe, with estimations of the population of the tribe at various time periods.
 * A history of the Mandan Indians is also included in a Bowen Family web history page, including letters written by George Catlin regarding Mandan history and culture.

Records
The majority of records of individuals were those created by the agencies. Some records may be available to tribal members through the tribal headquarters.They were (and are) the local office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and were charged with maintaining records of the activities of those under their responsibility. Among these records are:


 * Allotment records
 * Annuity rolls
 * Census records
 * Correspondence
 * Health records
 * Reports
 * School census and records
 * Vital records

Agencies
The following agencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs had jurisdiction over the Mandan for the time periods indicated. BIA agencies were responsible to keep such records as census rolls, allotment (land) records, annuity rolls, school records, correspondence, and other records of individual Indians under their jurisdiction. For details, see the page for the respective agency.


 * Upper Missouri Agency, 1824-1866
 * Fort Berthold Agency, 1867-present

Treaties
During the latter part of the 18th Century and most of the 19th Century, treaties were negotiated between the federal government and individual tribes. The treaties provide helpful information about the history of the tribe, but usually only include the names of those persons who signed the treaty. For more information about treaties, click here.

Treaties to which the Mandans were a part were:


 * 1825 Treaty, at the Mandan Village
 * 1851 Fort Laramie with Sioux, etc.
 * 1866 Treaty, at Fort Berthold (unratified)

Tribal Office Records
The Tribal Office is responsible for enrollment records, tribal police records, tribal court records, employment records and many others. They are an entirely different set of records from those kept by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Most of them remain in the Tribal Office. For details, contact that office at the address for the Tribal Headquarters listed above.

Superintendencies
The tribe was under the jurisdiction of the following superintendencies:

St. Louis Superintendency

Minnesota Superintendency

Central Superintendency

Dakota Superintendency

Important Websites

 * MHA Nation-Three Affiliated Tribes Website
 * Mandan Indians Wikipedia
 * By-Laws of the Three Affiliated Tribes

Mandan Tribe

 * Meyer, Roy W. The Village Indians of the Upper Missouri: the Mandans, Hidatsas, and Arikaras. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1977..