North Dakota Tribal Nations

Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota: History, Location and Important News

Published August 23, 2026 | Native American News Editorial Staff

The Fort Berthold Indian Reservation is home to the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, commonly called the MHA Nation or Three Affiliated Tribes. Located along the Missouri River and Lake Sakakawea in west-central North Dakota, Fort Berthold is a place of ancient earth-lodge traditions, powerful cultural survival, major energy development and one of the most consequential federal dam projects in Native American history.

Location, Communities and Lake Sakakawea

Fort Berthold covers nearly one million acres on both sides of Lake Sakakawea. New Town is the principal commercial and governmental center, and the reservation's six political segments correspond to the communities of New Town, Parshall/Lucky Mound, Mandaree, Four Bears, Twin Buttes and White Shield. The Four Bears Bridge carries North Dakota Highway 23 across the lake and provides a vital connection between communities separated by long arms of the reservoir.

The landscape combines rolling prairie, breaks, coulees, farm and ranch land, oil fields and an extensive reservoir shoreline. Lake Sakakawea supports boating, fishing and tourism, but it is also a constant reminder of the bottomlands, towns, farms and cultural places inundated by Garrison Dam. Travel distances can be substantial, particularly between the southern and northern segments, making dependable roads, emergency services and transportation major public concerns.

The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Peoples

The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara are three distinct Native nations, each with its own origin histories, clans, ceremonial traditions and language. The Mandan and Hidatsa languages belong to the Siouan language family. Arikara, also known as Sahnish, is a Caddoan language. MHA Nation identifies the languages as Mandan (Nuu'etaa), Hidatsa (Hiráaca) and Arikara (Sahnish), and offers language classes and learning resources to strengthen them for future generations.

Long before European contact, the peoples of the upper Missouri built substantial earth-lodge villages and practiced highly developed agriculture. Families raised corn, beans, squash and sunflowers, hunted bison and other game, and participated in a vast trade network. Their villages became major commercial centers where goods, food, horses and knowledge moved among nations across the Plains.

Smallpox epidemics in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries caused catastrophic loss of life. As populations fell and outside pressure increased, Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara communities built closer political and economic relationships. They lived together around Like-a-Fishhook Village and Fort Berthold while preserving their separate identities. The term Three Affiliated Tribes reflects that alliance rather than the disappearance of the three nations.

Treaties, Land Loss and the Fort Berthold Reservation

The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 recognized more than 12 million acres associated with the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara. Later agreements, executive orders and federal policies sharply reduced this land base. An 1870 executive order established a much smaller Fort Berthold Reservation, and additional reductions followed. Allotment divided reservation lands into individual parcels and opened other acreage to non-Native ownership, creating a checkerboard of tribal, allotted trust, federal and fee land.

Under the Indian Reorganization Act era, the Three Affiliated Tribes adopted a constitution and began operating the modern tribal government in 1936. Today the MHA Nation exercises sovereignty through its Tribal Business Council, courts, law-enforcement agencies, environmental programs, taxation, business enterprises and service departments.

Garrison Dam and the Flooding of Elbowoods

No twentieth-century event changed Fort Berthold more profoundly than construction of Garrison Dam. The Three Affiliated Tribes strongly opposed the project because the proposed reservoir would cover their most fertile Missouri River bottomlands. Federal authorities proceeded, and the rising waters of Lake Sakakawea flooded approximately 155,000 acres during the early 1950s.

The loss was far greater than acreage alone. Farms, ranches, homes, roads, schools, churches, cemeteries, businesses and the tribal center at Elbowoods were destroyed or relocated. Before the flooding, most reservation households lived in the river valley. Families were moved to drier upland areas where soil, water access and transportation were less favorable. Elbowoods High School's final class graduated in 1953, and the building soon disappeared beneath the reservoir.

The name Elbowoods lives on through institutions such as Elbowoods Memorial Health Center. The Four Bears Bridge and relocated communities also represent the continuing work of reconnecting a reservation physically divided by federal development.

Tribal Government and the Six Segments

The Tribal Business Council consists of a chairman elected at large and one representative from each of six segments: North Segment–New Town, North East Segment–Parshall/Lucky Mound, West Segment–Mandaree, Four Bears Segment, South Segment–Twin Buttes and East Segment–White Shield. The council legislates, approves budgets and oversees government policy, while individual segments address local services and development priorities.

MHA Nation's Tribal Code covers areas including public safety, commerce, environmental regulation and family law. Tribal government operates health, education, housing, road, veterans, energy, cultural and social-service programs. Official council meetings, agendas, resolutions and election notices are increasingly available online, giving citizens more direct access to government records.

Oil, Natural Gas and Economic Development

Fort Berthold sits over the productive Bakken and Three Forks formations. Oil development has produced jobs, royalties and tax revenue that have helped fund housing, schools, health care, community centers, roads and other infrastructure. The Tribe also created the People's Fund to provide enrolled members with a lasting benefit from oil-and-gas development, including trust arrangements for younger members.

The energy boom has also brought difficult tradeoffs. Heavy truck traffic, road damage, housing demand, natural-gas flaring, spills, rapid population change and pressure on public safety and emergency services require extensive oversight. Tribal sovereignty gives MHA Nation an important role in regulating industry and deciding how its natural resources should support future generations.

In May 2026, MHA leadership outlined a longer-term economic strategy emphasizing natural-gas processing, data centers and expanded crude-oil storage. The Tribe is also connecting energy development to food sovereignty through greenhouse projects that can use captured natural gas to provide heat, electricity and carbon dioxide for year-round produce. These plans are intended to diversify the economy before oil production eventually declines, though their environmental, water and infrastructure effects will remain important subjects for public review.

Important Fort Berthold News in 2026

As of August 23, 2026, several developments are especially important to Fort Berthold residents and readers following MHA Nation news:

• Tribal election: The 2026 primary election is scheduled for September 22, followed by the general election on November 3. Offices on the ballot include chairman and representatives for the Parshall/Lucky Mound, Four Bears and Twin Buttes segments. The Tribal Election Board posted candidate and election updates throughout the summer.
• Enrollment update: MHA Nation reported 17,825 enrolled members as of August 20, 2026, including more than 5,000 citizens under age 18 and more than 2,000 elders age 60 or older. Those figures highlight the importance of youth, education, elder services and long-range financial planning.
• Drought and wildfire danger: An August 20 update warned that drought conditions were worsening across Fort Berthold. Dry grass, wind and heat increase wildfire danger for homes, ranches, livestock and emergency crews, making burn restrictions and official safety notices especially important.
• Energy diversification: Plans discussed in 2026 focus on using natural gas, energy infrastructure, agriculture and technology to build greater economic self-sufficiency. Tribal leaders have identified natural-gas processing, data centers, food production and oil storage as possible parts of that strategy.
• Health and cultural outreach: MHA Nation's 2026 calendar included recurring diabetes clinics in White Shield, Parshall, Elbowoods and Mandaree. Health screenings were also incorporated into public cultural events, including the Little Shell Powwow.
• Powwows and celebrations: The 2026 season included the Arikara Celebration, Mandaree Hidatsa Celebration and Little Shell Celebration. Official livestreams helped citizens and relatives living away from Fort Berthold participate in community life.

Culture, Education and Community Life

Powwows, rodeos, clan relationships, veterans' activities, community feasts, traditional arts and language teaching remain central to Fort Berthold. MHA Nation's language program provides classes, daily words, recordings, dictionaries and books. The Tribal Historic Preservation Office works within the reservation and across ancestral homelands to protect culturally significant sites and meet federal preservation responsibilities.

Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College in New Town is an important tribally controlled educational institution. Along with reservation schools and community programs, it supports higher education, workforce preparation, cultural research and Native language learning. The MHA Interpretive Center and Three Affiliated Tribes Museum offer additional opportunities to learn from a tribal perspective.

Visiting Fort Berthold Respectfully

Fort Berthold offers dramatic views of Lake Sakakawea, public cultural events, fishing, boating, museums and tribally owned hospitality at 4 Bears Casino & Lodge. Visitors should consult official event calendars and recreation rules before traveling. Fishing and hunting requirements may differ by location and land status, and both tribal and state regulations can apply around the reservoir.

Stay on public roads, respect private and trust land, and never collect artifacts or disturb archaeological sites. Ask before photographing dancers, ceremonies or community members. The most meaningful visit comes from listening to MHA voices, supporting tribal businesses and artists, and recognizing that Fort Berthold is a sovereign homeland—not simply a scenic stop or an oil field.

Why Fort Berthold Matters Today

Fort Berthold represents both devastating loss and extraordinary rebuilding. The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara survived epidemics, land reductions, allotment and the destruction of their river-valley communities. Today MHA Nation uses tribal government, cultural knowledge and natural-resource revenue to rebuild infrastructure and pursue greater economic independence.

The reservation's future will be shaped by decisions about energy, water, agriculture, climate risk, language, public health and the needs of a growing enrolled population. Understanding that future requires remembering the earth-lodge villages, the fertile bottomlands beneath Lake Sakakawea and the distinct identities of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara peoples.