NEW TOWN – A lawsuit over ownership of the Missouri River riverbed within the Fort Berthold Reservation will go to trial, following a recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Berman Jackson denied summary judgment motions filed by the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation and the United States Department of Justice.

At trial, the court will examine the full historical record, evidence, and expert testimony before ruling on the United States’ suit to quiet title to the riverbed within reservation boundaries.

At stake is legal title to the riverbed and the oil and gas minerals beneath it. The trial will determine whether ownership of the riverbed and mineral rights rests with the United States in trust for Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation or with the State of North Dakota, which claims ownership and seeks authority over leasing, development and the collection of royalties.

MHA Nation Chairman Mark Fox issued the following statement: “The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation looks forward to the trial and the opportunity to present further evidence of its historic use and ownership of the Missouri River riverbed within the Fort Berthold Reservation. Since time immemorial, the river has sustained our people physically, culturally and spiritually, and it remains central to our nation’s identity. Our relationship with the river is essential to who we are.

“Since 1825, the United States government has continuously declared that, within the boundaries of the Fort Berthold Reservation, the Missouri River and the minerals beneath it belong to the MHA Nation. For nearly two centuries, these rights have been documented and reaffirmed through treaties, legal agreements and formal federal actions. The United States has affirmed the MHA Nation’s mineral property rights beneath the Missouri River numerous times, recognizing treaty rights that are essential to the Nation’s ability to be self-sufficient.

“The leadership of the MHA Nation will continue this fight to protect our homelands. We are confident in the strength of our case and that, in the end, we will prevail.”