Assistant Secretary of the Interior George W. Abbott today announced approval of a public land order restoring to tribal ownership about 1,161 acres of scattered tracts on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota.
The lands being restored were ceded to the United States by the Indians many years ago and were opened to settlement and entry under the homestead laws in 1911. These particular tracts, however, have not been sold or disposed of over the 50-year period.
Their restoration to tribal ownership was requested by the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation - Arickaree, Mandan and Gros Ventres - to meet the resettlement needs of tribal members displaced from their homes by construction of the Garrison Dam and reservoir project.
The restoration is effective immediately.
