- Revival of Black Mouth Society shows value of culture LearnHidatsa.com

AUTHOR: Jodi Rave, Billings Gazette

Gerald "Tex" Fox held a microphone in his hand as he introduced members of the Hidatsa Black Mouth Society.

It had been more than a half-century since anyone had seen a member of this once revered and prestigious society. But in recent months, Mandaree community members decided to revive the society that had all but faded into history books.

"We know it doesn't have the full power it had years ago," Fox said. "But we're going to work with the community. They're not here for show. They'll be doing security of the camp as a whole."

Fox spoke to citizens of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, who had gathered deep in the heart of the Mandaree community on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River.

On this day, the people listened to him as they sat under a tree-branch-covered arbor near a newly constructed earth lodge. The two-day encampment marked the community's commemoration of the day Sacagawea returned to the Hidatsa homelands 200 years ago this August.

On Thursday, tribal citizens from all parts of the reservation began participating in a four-day national signature event, which ends today. The Three Affiliated Tribes - or Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation - is one of the few tribes in the country selected nationally to host an event commemorating the 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark expedition.

The tribes have used the occasion to celebrate the life of Sacagawea, or Bird Woman, who left the Hidatsa earth lodge villages to help lead Lewis and Clark to the Pacific Ocean. She returned to the Hidatsa in August 1806.

As I sat with the Mandaree community members, I enjoyed the feeling of being back home on the Fort Berthold Reservation. It's not something I've felt in more than three years since my mother died.

I leaned back in my chair and looked at the waters of Lake Sakakawea. I've always enjoyed summer days on the lake. My family camped near its shores for as long as I can remember.

But the lake sometimes makes me sad, too.

I think of all the families - 90 percent of the three tribes - that had to relocate after the federal government chose to flood our ancestral homelands in the 1950s to make way for the Pick Sloan project and the Garrison Dam.

That's how we ended up with Lake Sakakawea, now one of the largest man-made lakes in the United States.

A lot of our sacred sites lie submerged under Lake Sakakawea. Our communities were broken up and separated. And without those sacred sites and societal structures, a lot of our ceremonies faded.

The last member of the Hidatsa Black Mouth Society died in the 1950s, leaving the society inactive since. The Mandan still have a few members of the Black Mouth Society. The Hidatsa historically bought the rites to the Black Mouth, or police society, from the Mandan.

The newly revived Hidatsa society expects to take on a visible role in community events on the reservation. So far, 13 men have been asked to be part of the society. Others will be actively recruited.

"Although I wanted to see this society, I didn't dream this up myself," said Fox, who was asked to organize the group because he has more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement.

Fox introduced the new members to the Mandaree community. And now that society leaders have been chosen, he will step aside. But he told the community gathered under the arbor that the men who agreed to be part of the group were prepared to face criticism for reviving the traditional police society.

The gathering in Mandaree marked the first official duties of the resurrected society.

As I sat under the arbor, I wasn't surprised to hear Fox warn of criticism. I've often heard others criticize someone who is trying to practice traditional ways. They are usually accused of not doing something right. But if others don't take the lead, then those traditions, cultural beliefs and societal practices will be forever submerged.

The three tribes' signature event created an opportunity for the Hidatsa to look back at how our life used to be when our societies were in working order.

At the same time, the tribes have probably been criticized by other American Indians for participating in Lewis and Clark events as part of the bicentennial.

Many American Indians argue that Lewis and Clark represented the beginning of the end.

But those people tend to have a limited view of the world. When Lewis and Clark arrived among the Mandan and Hidatsa, there was already a president of the United States.

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Jodi Rave can be reached at 406-523-5299 or jodi.rave@lee.net