The Treaty of Fort Laramie granted the land
To the Arikara, Hidatsa, and Mandan.
This great Treaty was merely a temporary writ
Lasting only 'til the natives were asked to quit
And prepare for the day that their valley would flood
Washing away the farms built with their sweat and blood.
One hundred fifty three thousand acres they say
Were flooded by the monolithic REA.
The Garrison Dam now holds back Truman's great lake
Submerging lands natives were compelled to forsake.
The old highway to Elbowood ends at its shores.
Are the eviction orders still nailed to the doors
Hanging limply below the cool placid waters
On the homes taken from native sons and daughters?
Author notes
Image Source: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Landscapes_g114-The_Light_Of_The_Twilight_p7811.html
The Rural Electification Authority (REA) brought power to the farflung areas of the United States. The effort was both heroic and epic. But, like many heroic efforts, it does have its dark side. In some cases massive hydroelectric dams flooded prime agricultural lands and villages in the valleys that were flooded. Dams were also constructed to control flooding on the nations rivers.
The Garrison Dam in North Dakota was completed in 1954. The reservoir behind the dam is known as Lake Sakakawea. This flood control/hydropower dam flooded 1/4 of the reservations lands belonging to the Arikara, Hidatsa, and Mandan. These lands were allotted to the Three Tribes by the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1851. Much of the reason that these lands were flooded centered on the egos and racial bias of certain members of the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Currently hydropower produced by the dam, a renewable resource, is at 50% capcity.
In a list
A contest entry
- Free images. Look by Heroesrox.
400 points, ended October 4, 8 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 15 of 15
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the sad consequences of greed and racial bias. A very enjoyable read on a topic I was not previously aware of. Excellent poetry.
Rory
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Oh wow what a damn fine write"! I love the subject matter the rhyme everything about this poem - it works |!
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Thank you very much for reading and commenting. I have had this running around in the back of my brain for quite some time now. I was just waiting for it to come to fruition. I am glad you enjoyed it.
Mike
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You always impress, spinning a poem from history as well as making it a learning experience with your details.. AND in rhyme
Good work and best of luck!
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I am glad you enjoyed this. Most people think the Mandan disappeared through due to small pox epidemics. The were a very numerous tribe at the time that Lewis and Clark made their famous trek. The communities surrounding Elbowoods were a prosperous mixture of Scandanavians, Mandan, Arikara, and Hidatsa who farmed the valley before it was flooded through the building of the Garrison Dam.
Mike
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Superb Plus
Ah, a sad write! Why is it, that so many individuals and govt. agencies have cheated on treaties with the various tribes of Native Americans? Ego: Yes. Bigotry: Yes. Lack of appreciation for someone else's culture and lifestyle, Yes. It's funny, we almost committed genocide against Native American's, and all they were doing was protecting their land, and their cultural values, and sadly we whites, thought our lifestyle, was supposedly, superior and so we massacered them. That is a shameful period in America's history; and yet we'll go to war to protect the ways of white men and their culture, how wierd we caucasians are, and it is very sad, indeed. -
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Native Americans have gotten the short end of the stick from the Spanish, English, and American governments since the time of contact. They have rarely been treated as equals and usually only until the dominant government was more powerful than the native tribe. In this case the Three Tribes were doing exactly what the US Government claimed they wanted and lost it all. They had become successful farmers and entreprenuers.
Thank you for reading and commenting. I am glad you enjoyed the poem.
Mike
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Great poem, I know this must be a heartfelt write for you and it really comes out in your words, perfect rhyme as usual and a great take on the picture prompt. Best of luck in the contest
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Indian rights and unvarnished history are pet subjects of mine. Rarely are people on one side of the issue completely right or completely wrong. Rural electrification and flood control on the Missouri River were important issues. The highandedness and great egos involved ruled out other viable options.
Mike
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Very nice work here. It's sad, but like the other commenters said, truth hurts!
Thanks so much for taking the time to enter this wonderful piece into my contest. Very creative and not what I would expect from this prompt! Best wishes and good luck.
hr
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I have always enjoyed your contests. I appreciate the prompt that spurred me to write this one. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Mike
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Truth hurts. I like it.
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The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Mike
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Shame in the name of progress. Well written.
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Similarly towns were erased to create reservoirs in New England where I live. In the name of progress, the Canadian government forcibly transplanted fishermen from Southern Newfoundland to the West Coast of the island. But in the case of the Garrison Dam, clear racial bias and the ego of General Pick seem to have had more to do with the building of this dam and the exclusion of alternative methods of flood control and power generation.
Thank you for reading and commenting.
Mike
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