The State of North Dakota moved to intervene in a federal lawsuit brought by the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation asserting ownership of the historical riverbed of the Missouri River within the boundaries of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.
The State claims, and the U.S. Department of the Interior Solicitor in May 2020 agreed, that the State owns title to the riverbed within the Reservation. The Tribes sued the Department of the Interior in July 2020 seeking to overturn the Solicitor’s opinion, prevent it from being implemented, and establish their title to the riverbed and to funds generated from leasing and production of minerals located therein. In February 2022, the Biden administration’s Interior Solicitor reversed the 2020 opinion, concluding the riverbed belongs to the United States in trust for the Tribes.
The State has never relinquished its claim to the historical riverbed, which it acquired at statehood in 1889 under the equal footing doctrine, which provides that a state entering the Union retains title to the beds of navigable rivers and lakes within the state, unless Congress has expressly designated otherwise. The claim applies only to the historical riverbed of the Missouri River, not the entirety of the bed of Lake Sakakawea.
The motion, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, preserves the State’s position while also allowing discussions to continue with the Tribes and the United States to reach an amicable resolution.
While multiple Interior opinions have been issued over the years, the matter of title has never been resolved in a court of law as it must be. The State’s motion to intervene additionally seeks to ensure that any revenues generated from riverbed mineral development will continue to be held in abeyance until the legal dispute is resolved.
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