Elbowoods

Elbowoods
Name	Elbowoods
Settlement type	Ghost town
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	United States
Subdivision type1	State
Subdivision name1	North Dakota
Subdivision type2	County
Subdivision name2	McLean County

Elbowoods was a Native American community on the Fort Berthold Reservation in McLean County, North Dakota within the historical territory of the Mandan people, Hidatsa people, and Arikara Nation (Three Affiliated Tribes). Located on the bank of the Missouri River prior to mid-20th-century federal reservoir projects, Elbowoods served as a cultural, educational, and administrative center for tribal members until inundation by the Lake Sakakawea reservoir following construction associated with the Garrison Dam. The town's history intersects with U.S. federal Indian policy, the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, and broader regional developments in Great Plains settlement and resource management.

History

Elbowoods' origins are tied to the relocation and settlement patterns of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation after contact with Lewis and Clark Expedition and subsequent pressures from Sioux migrations and Euro-American expansion. Tribal villages in the 19th century adapted to interactions with agents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and missionaries from organizations such as the Methodist Episcopal Church and Catholic Church (Roman Catholic) while negotiating treaties like the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 and the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Elbowoods developed institutions including schools aligned with policies from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and outreach linked to organizations such as the Carnegie Foundation and the Office of Indian Affairs. The town expanded civic life through tribal governance that later interfaced with entities like the Indian Reorganization Act-era councils and leaders who engaged with figures from the U.S. Congress and administrations of presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman.

Elbowoods' decline resulted from the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program authorized by Congress and construction by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build the Garrison Dam in the 1940s and 1950s. The reservoir, Lake Sakakawea, submerged homeland, cemeteries, and infrastructure, triggering legal and political disputes involving tribal leaders, attorneys in Indian law, and federal agencies including the Department of the Interior. The inundation shaped later activism connected to movements like the Red Power movement and legal frameworks developed under statutes such as the Indian Claims Commission Act.

Geography and Environment

Situated along a former meander of the Missouri River, Elbowoods occupied prairie and riparian ecologies characteristic of the Northern Plains. The surrounding landscape formed part of broader watersheds influenced by tributaries such as the James River and Knife River and ecosystems that supported species found in the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve and migratory patterns of birds noted by observers from the Audubon Society. Climate patterns reflected continental influences similar to those studied at institutions like the National Weather Service and in research by the U.S. Geological Survey. The creation of Lake Sakakawea altered hydrology and habitats, impacting fisheries managed under compacts involving the North Dakota Game and Fish Department and federal conservation programs like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara (Three Affiliated Tribes) Community

Elbowoods functioned as a focal point for the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, whose cultural continuity links to ancestral sites including Fort Clark Trading Post State Historic Site and ceremonies observed at the Awake-awake and seasonal gatherings comparable to events at the Crow Fair and Pow Wow. Tribal governance on the Fort Berthold Reservation coordinated through councils that engaged with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the National Congress of American Indians, and legal advocates involved with cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States. Social institutions such as schools, churches, and community centers mirrored initiatives supported by organizations like the National Indian Youth Council and the Indian Health Service.

Economy and Infrastructure

Prior to inundation, Elbowoods sustained economies based on subsistence agriculture, horticulture, livestock husbandry, hunting, and trade with regional markets in towns such as New Town, North Dakota, Minot, North Dakota, and Bismarck, North Dakota. Transportation links included riverine routes on the Missouri River and overland roads connecting to U.S. Route 83 and railheads of the Burlington Northern Railroad. Federal projects, including electrification and flood control under the Pick-Sloan Plan, reshaped local infrastructure, while compensation and relocation schemes invoked policies from the Federal Power Act and program administration by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Culture and Notable Sites

Elbowoods hosted cultural venues, ceremonial grounds, and burial sites integral to the heritage of the Three Affiliated Tribes, comparable in cultural resonance to landmarks such as Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site and Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site. Artistic traditions including pottery, ledger art, and powwow regalia tied the community to broader Indigenous arts scenes represented in collections at the Smithsonian Institution, the National Museum of the American Indian, and regional museums like the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum. Notable leaders and elders from the community engaged with national figures in Native advocacy and collaborated with scholars associated with universities such as North Dakota State University and the University of North Dakota.

Displacement and Relocation (Garrison Dam)

The construction of the Garrison Dam resulted in mandatory relocations, property loss, and cultural disruption for residents of Elbowoods, leading to negotiated settlements and contested appraisals involving legal instruments under the Indian Claims Commission. Displaced families resettled in communities including New Town, North Dakota and new developments planned by federal agencies and tribal authorities, while activists sought redress through forums represented by the National Congress of American Indians and litigants who petitioned the United States Court of Federal Claims. The legacy of displacement informed later policy debates on tribal sovereignty, environmental justice highlighted by advocates associated with the Native American Rights Fund, and commemoration efforts at sites like the Fort Berthold Museum and regional memorials.

Category:Ghost towns in North Dakota Category:Native American history of North Dakota