North Dakota Native American Essential Understanding Number Five is about tribal policies, treaties, and sovereignty. It states, "Native people practice self-determination, developing tribal policies, and practicing political activism. Despite a history of U.S. policies and treaties that have often been detrimental, native people are members of sovereign nations that predate the U.S. government."
In today's episode of Dakota Datebook, we'll hear Charles Moran, enrolled member of the Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara nation share about the AMH enrollment.
Charles Moran:
Out of the, like I said, 25,000, 30,000 Arikaras. The 50,000 Hidatsas, 50,000 Mandans. Today we have probably about 14,000 enrolled members. When I was born, they gave me a number like a social security number, and mine has a U in front of it. Unlocked. I wasn’t born with land and it unlocked and then my number. I only have a four digit number. At that time, I was the 4,000th enrolled member. Today we're at 14,000, so within the 52 years, there's been 10 more thousand people enrolled here. But to get all those kids and those people to understand who they are and who they represent, it's hard. It's hard to compete against outside influence. Internet, cell phones, wifi. It's hard. Yeah.
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If you'd like to learn more about the North Dakota Native American essential understandings, and to listen to more Indigenous elder interviews, visit teachingsofourelders.org.