I missed the live broadcast this morning of the Indian Affairs hearing concerning how the Flood Control Act of 1944 has impacted Missouri River tribes.  I would have loved to have listened to the broadcast.  Chairman Marcus Wells of the Three Affiliated Tribes and Chairman Ron His Horse Is Thunder of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe were both scheduled to testify, along with other chairpeople from other Missouri River tribes. 

While I’ve never met either of them in person, I have heard both of them speak and I have been impressed with their dedication to the people they serve.  As I understand it, their purpose in testifying today was to get compensation for individual members of Native American tribes who were displaced when the Garrison Dam was built.

The Garrison Dam is one of the provisions of the Flood Control Act of 1944.  The act changed the Missouri River and in the process, it flooded much of the tribes’ best farmland.  There’s an entire issue of how the Missouri River is being managed or mismanaged, but I’ll leave that for another time, in a more political blog. 

For today, I want to tell the Sovereign Nations and tribal members in and around North Dakota how much I appreciate the good they do. 

Here are just a few of the things that I enjoy about and from the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara) and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe:

• The Three Affiliated Tribes Museum in New Town, North Dakota.  In the summer, there is a beautiful little Three Sisters garden near the door.  Inside are pieces of art, beautiful star quilts and amazing bits of history.
• The beautiful artwork displayed at the Five Nations Art, located in an old train depot in Mandan, North Dakota.
• The friendly people…I can honestly say that every member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Three Affiliated Tribes that I’ve had the opportunity to meet have been kind, cheerful and hospitable.