The second supporting question, “What is the Three Affiliated Tribes Alliance?” helps students use primary sources to unwrap the context of the time and topic being examined. The Mandan and Hidatsa lived close together for many years, and while friendly, maintained separate tribes, villages, languages, and cultural traditions. The Arikara, who call themselves Sahnish, moved north along the Missouri until they also lived in the same area. After the smallpox epidemics of 1781 and 1837 the three tribes formed a loose alliance and have lived close to one another ever since. When the Fort Berthold Reservation was established in 1870, they formed a more formal alliance. Today the three tribes continue to live together on the reservation under a formal, modern tribal government.
Complete the following task using the sources provided to build a context of the time period and topic being examined.
Formative Performance Task 2
Study sources A-C. Write a brief summary that answers the following questions:
- What types of sources are they?
- What is going on in these sources? What kind of information do they contain?
- Who created each of these sources?
- Who was the intended audience for each source?
- Why were these sources created?
- When were the sources created?
- What do the sources tell us about the Three Affiliated Tribes’ alliance?
How do we know? What else can you find?
Featured Sources 2
| Source A | Modern Tribal Government |
| Source B | North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission
Pay special attention to the section on the Three Affiliated Tribes—MHA Nation. Where is the reservation located? How many people are enrolled? How many people live on the reservation? What kind of government do they have? |
| Source C | MHA Nation
Spend time looking around the tribe’s website but pay special attention to the Our Tribe and MHA Nation History sections. |