Details

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Collection Summary
Collection: 2019P162 - Leo D. Harris Photo Collection
Folder: 0001
Item: 00037
Title: Native American men on horses singing in procession to Four Bears Bridge dedication, Elbowoods (N.D.)
Date: 06/17/1934
Creator: Harris, Leo D.
Inscription/Marks: [negative envelope] Elbowoods, North Dakota. Photographed by Leo D. Harris
Summary: Eight Native Americans in full regalia side by side on horses singing while in procession to dedication of Four Bears Bridge. There are more dignitaries in regalia directly behind them and they are followed by automobiles. The horses in the front row alternate between white and dark horses from side to side. More automobiles are parked either side of the dirt road they ride on. [History] The Four Bears Bridge was originally constructed in 1934. The bridge replaced Verendrye Bridge, and spans the Missouri River on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. The bridge was moved in 1955 due to the construction of the Garrison Dam and subsequent creation of Lake Sakakawea. A new Four Bears Bridge was constructed in 2005. Because the Mandan tribe lived on the south side of the river, the south end of the bridge was dedicated to the Mandan Chief Four Bears (Mato Tope). A two-story monument near the entrance of the bridge was dedicated to the Mandan chief. The Hidatsa lived on the north side of the river, and the north end of the bridge was dedicated to their Chief Four Bears, who was recognized as a diplomat and was instrumental in the signing of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851. The treaty included transportation access through the reservation. The Chief was killed by the Sioux in the fall of 1861, while he was bathing in the river.
Red ID: PH_I_149353 Image ID: 175629 Image Notes: 2019-P-162-00037

Collection: 2019P162 Digitized Images from Collection
Title: Leo D. Harris Photo Collection
Date: 1925-circa 1960

Summary: Images of people and events on the Fort Berthold Reservation including dedication of the Four Bears Bridge, the Four Bears monument and the monument to the Fort Laramie Tribal Council of 1851, as well as images of the men who repatriated the Water Buster Bundle.

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