Pop Quiz: Through which tribal community in North Dakota do approximately 11,000 vehicles now drive daily?

Answer: New Town!

I was among the vehicle traffic traveling in and around New Town recently while I attended the second annual Energy Oil and Gas Summit, “Looking Out for Our Interests Today, for Tomorrow,” on February 1-2. I really enjoyed my first trip to the Mandan Hidatsa Arikara (MHA) Nation, and I especially appreciated the friendly hellos from strangers, and the handshakes and hugs of old acquaintances.

Jaime Pinkham, vice president of the Native Nations Team, and I traveled to this conference to see first-hand the fast-changing development in the region, and to hear and learn about the oil and gas issues facing the Tribe and its membership, specifically the allottees (‘‘Indian allottee’’ means any Indian for whom land or an interest in land is held in trust by the United States).

According to the US Department of the Interior, $117 million in royalty payments was generated on this reservation in 2011, which is up 400% from the previous year. Those royalty payments went to the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara tribal government and individual American Indian mineral owners. An impressive lineup of speakers shared additional data that included tax revenue figures, oil and natural gas production statistics and the measurable impacts of all of this development and wealth.

In case you don’t realize it, much of western North Dakota is either in the middle of a major oil boom, or is in some way dealing with the effects of this oil boom.  It’s predicted to be a major boom for years to come, but it’s not without its challenges. At the Summit, MHA Nation Vice Chairman Scott Eagle expressed some of those challenges: workforce education, community infrastructure, understanding revenues, state taxation agreement and impacts on first responders.   

North Dakota Governor Jack Darymple attended and shared the latest efforts of state government around these issues within the MHA Nation and in the region, bringing with him many of his top aides, including North Dakota Indian Commission Executive Director Scott Davis (a Native Nation Rebuilder). The State of North Dakota will be constructing a truck reliever route around the community of New Town in the near future; it has also set up a Housing Incentive Fund, a special revolving fund capitalized by contributions from North Dakota taxpayers. Ron Ness shared some incredible industry statistics as the president of the 340-member North Dakota Petroleum Council, including the fact that the average annual salary of an oil field worker is $92,000. Dave Archambault II, another Rebuilder, represented United Tribes Technical College on a panel about tribal colleges’ role in building human resources to support the oil boom.  Participants shared so many statistics I felt like I was swimming in numbers!

Throughout the presentations and conversations between sessions, it became quite apparent that these are truly unique times.  It will take courage from those formal and informal leaders who live and work on the MHA Nation to come together and solve the tough challenges that arise from this new prosperity.  Panelist Marilyn Hudson gave a speech titled, “Knowing Whose Land You’re On,” in which she asked an important question: “Fifty years from now, will history find that the leaders in 2012 did the right thing?”

Ray Cross, distinguished professor from the University of Montana School of Law (and 1988 Bush Fellow), spoke about sharing development to maximize benefits for the reservation and highlighted several examples in the 20^th century of the Tribe’s hard work and determination as they built their Nation. He said that the MHA Nation can take on these new, challenging times because there’s a strong history of leadership. 

The Foundation’s Native Nations goal was selected based on the research coming from Indian Country that shows that a tribe’s progress on core issues is greatest wherever self-determination comes first.  There is ample evidence of this in MHA’s history. There is proof that they have a history of leadership willing to address the overwhelming challenges that confront Native nations. That same resolve will help them into the future with their oil and gas development. And exercising their inherent right of self-determination can assist them now, as it has in the past.  Our work at the Bush Foundation is to support tribes at that intersection between leadership and self-determination.

Talk Back to Bush

If you attended the conference, what jumped out at you as important? What do you believe is the biggest challenge facing Native nations when it comes to managing their natural resources? What is the greatest opportunity? We want to know what you think.