Community Stories
Fort Berthold

In 1944, the U.S. Congress passed the Flood Control Act and began to construct a series of large dams on the Missouri River. One of these dams was built on the Fort Berthold Reservation. The Nueta/Nuptadi, Hidatsa and Sahnish cattlemen made a valiant effort to prevent the construction of the dam, stating: "this dam will destroy our cattle industry. We are stockmen and our living depends on our production of cattle". By 1953, the relocation of 350 families from the Missouri River Valley was complete.

Elbowoods community (Nueta/Nuptadi, Hidatsa and Sahnish) with flood waters lapping on the outskirts Courtesy of the State Historical Society of North Dakota

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