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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2002

"For the several years now, I have been researching material for a book about the history of the Sahnish people. On Tuesday, I interviewed Bobby Whitefeather, tribal chairman of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa. That interview gave me some new insights into reasons why the culture and language of the Sahnish are disappearing.

When I compared the populations of these two tribes, I found Red Lake is somewhat similar to the Three Affiliated Tribes in numbers. We both have about 6,000 residents. Red Lake, however, has about 7,000 "enrolled" members, while Three Affiliated has about 10,000. This is according to Bureau of Indian Affairs census figures from 1993. What that means is that during the earlier years, more of the Sahnish (Arikara), Mandan and Hidatsa moved away from the reservation than did the Anishinaabeg of Red Lake. . ."

Get the Story:
Old decision keeps Red Lake culture alive (The Grand Forks Herald 2/23)