"The Feb. 24 story by The Associated Press about the millionaires on the Fort Berthold reservation in North Dakota was a surprise to many of us who live here. We’re looking at each other with hands in the air saying “Who, us? On our reservation?”

Before you think I might be hiding my head in a barrel of oil, I am making my judgments based on the change in the people. It isn’t as you would suspect — mansions, big cars or fancy pickups and “bling” dripping from the wrist; no, it is mostly life as usual.

But it’s stories such as The AP’s that bring in both consultants who want to help us spend our money or people who are selling things we can’t live without.

Fred Fox, the director for energy on the reservation (and incidentally, a whiz at all these oil numbers) told me that in a few years, there will be “big bucks.” I believe him. He knows more about the oil business than almost anyone I know.

“So,” I said him, “when will I get on this money wagon?” I was wondering if my mother’s land would produce or if the oil company that leased it would start drilling.

Well, not everyone has oil, Fox said. It is the people who have oil-producing land, which is not everyone. The majority does not have oil or have only a small portion of the payout. Plus, on some of the leases, there are many, many heirs. That is the way it is on the reservation."

Get the Story:
COLUMNIST DORREEN YELLOW BIRD: 'Traffic, yes; riches, no' on the reservation (The Grand Forks Herald 3/3)
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