Mandan Tribe
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| Beginning Research | |
| Tribes | |
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| Bureau of Indian Affairs | |
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Guide to Mandan Tribe ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and other agency records.
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| Population |
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| Full-blooded: |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Ancestral Homelands: Missouri River near North Dakota, Northwest United States
Descendants: Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota |
| Status |
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Federally recognized as one of the Three Affiliated Tribes |
| Linguistic Group |
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Siouan |
| Cultural Group |
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Mandan |
| Other Related Ethnic Groups |
Alternate Names and Spellings: "the People of the First Man"
Tribal Headquarters[edit | edit source]
Three Affiliated Tribes
404 Frontage Road
New Town, ND 58763
Phone: 1.701.627.4781
Fax: 1.701.627.3503
History[edit | edit source]
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[1]. 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)[2].
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[3]. 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[4]. 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[5].
Brief Timeline[edit | edit source]
- 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[edit | edit source]
- 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[edit | edit source]
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
Correspondence and Census[edit | edit source]
| Tribe | Agency | Location of Original Records |
Pre-1880 Correspondence M234 RG 75 Rolls 962 Roll Number |
FHL Film Number |
Post-1885 Census M595 RG 75 Rolls 693 Roll Number |
FHL Film Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mandan | Upper Missouri Agency, 1824-66 | Washington D.C. | Rolls 883-88 | - | - | - |
| Mandan | Fort Berthold, 1889-1939 | Kansas City | Rolls 292-99 | - | Rolls 132-36 | 576487-491 |
| Mandan | Bismark Indian School, 1904-38 | Kansas City | - | - | - | - |
Agencies[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
The tribe was under the jurisdiction of the following superintendencies:
Important Websites[edit | edit source]
- MHA Nation-Three Affiliated Tribes Website
- Mandan Indians Wikipedia
- By-Laws of the Three Affiliated Tribes
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Frederick Webb Hodge. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1906.
- ↑ Frederick Webb Hodge. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1906.
- ↑ Frederick Webb Hodge. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1906.
- ↑ Frederick Webb Hodge. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1906.
- ↑ By-Laws of the Three Affiliated Tribes.
Bibliography[edit | edit source]
Mandan Tribe[edit | edit source]
- Meyer, Roy W. The Village Indians of the Upper Missouri: the Mandans, Hidatsas, and Arikaras. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1977. FHL book 970.1 M575v.
