The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation of North Dakota originally intended to use the Island Girl yacht for gaming on Lake Sakakawea but the vessel was grounded for two years due to regulatory issues. It's now being used for family-friendly cruises. Photo from Yacht Charter Fleet

Members of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation are demanding answers about the North Dakota tribe's finances.

A petition on change.org features a dramatic photo of a yacht that the tribe purchased for $1.2 million. Although the vessel is no longer grounded, to critics it represents some of the questionable expenditures on the reservation.

“We want to see what happened to our money,” Doreen Lyons, a tribal member who posted the petition, told The Bismarck Tribune. “We have to do this as tribal members, because if we don’t, no one else is going to do it for us.”

Chairman Mark Fox has promised to deliver an audit to the people and the tribe has shared budget information on the reservation. But when he sought to have some pamphlets posted on the tribe's website, he was outvoted by other council members, the paper reported.

In addition to spending, the petition raises questions about per capita distributions from the tribe's energy royalties. From 2008 to 2014, each member received $1,500, plus another $5,000 in 2014 and 2015, the paper reported.

Get the Story:
Tribal members want audit of Three Affiliated Tribes funds (The Bismarck Tribune 4/8)

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