Who Are the Mandan?
The Mandan are a Siouan-speaking people of the northern Plains, now part of the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara) on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota, with total enrollment of approximately 16,000. Fewer than 100 fluent Mandan speakers remain. The Mandan are unique among Plains peoples for their permanent earth lodge villages, sophisticated agriculture, and role as trading centers. Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1804-05 with the Mandan, finding a prosperous, organized society that served as a commercial hub for the northern Plains. The 1837 smallpox epidemic and Garrison Dam (1953) devastated this culture.
Earth Lodge Villages
The Mandan built permanent villages of earth lodges—substantial structures of timber frames covered with earth, housing extended families. These villages, located on bluffs above the Missouri River, were fortified with palisades. Unlike nomadic peoples, the Mandan practiced intensive agriculture: corn, beans, squash, and sunflowers. Women controlled agricultural production; the harvest was stored for winter and traded to nomadic peoples. Mandan villages became trading centers where horses from the south met guns from the north—a position that brought wealth and vulnerability. Painter George Catlin documented Mandan life in the 1830s, just before catastrophe struck.
1837 Smallpox
The 1837 smallpox epidemic nearly destroyed the Mandan. A steamboat brought the disease; within months, the Mandan population collapsed from approximately 1,800 to perhaps 125. Survivors merged with the Hidatsa for protection, eventually joining with the Arikara to form the Three Affiliated Tribes. This 90%+ mortality rate eliminated much traditional knowledge; the sophisticated culture Catlin documented barely survived in living memory. The epidemic's timing—just as American expansion intensified—meant survivors faced dispossession with minimal numbers to resist.
Contemporary Mandan
Modern Mandan share governance within the Three Affiliated Tribes. Garrison Dam (1953) flooded the reservation's most productive lands, including timber, bottomlands, and villages—another massive displacement. Oil development on Fort Berthold (Bakken formation) has brought recent wealth but also social disruption. Language preservation is critical; Mandan has very few speakers. The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nations College and various cultural programs work to preserve distinct identities within confederated governance. How the Mandan maintain separate identity, revive language, and navigate oil wealth's opportunities and challenges shapes their future within the Three Affiliated Tribes.
References
- Bowers, A. W. (1950). Mandan Social and Ceremonial Organization
- Meyer, R. W. (1977). The Village Indians of the Upper Missouri: The Mandans, Hidatsas, and Arikaras
- Catlin, G. (1841). Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Conditions of North American Indians