Fort Berthold Indian Reservation (North Dakota)

The Fort Berthold Indian Reservation is located in the counties of Mountrail, McKenzie, Dunn, Mercer, and Ward, in west central North Dakota.


 * Established -- 17 September 1851
 * Agency (BIA) -- Fort Berthold Agency
 * Principal tribes -- Arikara, Hidatsa, Mandan
 * Population --

History
The Fort Berthold Reservation was established by Unratified agreement of Sept. 17, 1851, and July 27, 1866 and by executive orders, Apr. 12, 1870, July 13, 1880, and June 17,1892 and agreement of Dec. 14, 1886, ratified by act of Mar.3, 1891 (XXVI, 1032).

Records
Records of many of the Indians who have lived on the Fort Berthold Reservation are among the records of the Fort Berthold Agency, now housed at the Central Plains Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Kansas City.

The 1900 federal census included population schedules for the Fort Berthold Reservation. The census includes the non-Indian employees of the Fort Berthold Agency, as well as many pages of Indian Population Schedules for the native population of the Reservation. They are recorded as District 261, Fort Berthold Agency, in McLean County, North Dakota.

Listings of the Indians living on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in 1915 and 1925 are included in the state census of North Dakota. The major portion of the 1915 enumeration is filed under "Fort Berthall (sic) Indian Reservation" in McLean County. However, there are many Indian families and individuals enumerated in other townships of McLean County and in other counties, as well. The 1925 census includes listings for the Fort Berthold Reservation filed under the subdivisions of "Tribe Arickara," "Tribe Gros Ventre," and "Tribe Mandan."

Agency Records 1885-1951 (Census, Birth, Marriage, and Death, School, Selective Service, WWI and WWII,Allotment, Probate Register of Families and Heirship)                                                                 FHL film: 1249891-1249895, 1028523-1028528