History ETDs

Publication Date

Summer 7-28-2026

Abstract

This dissertation explores the intersection of sovereignty and development among the Nakoda (Assiniboine) and Oc̣eti Ṡaḳowiŋ (Sioux) Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Methodologically, it draws on a critical reading of archival sources in conjunction with community input. It traces the emergence of reservation policy, government sponsored education, the imposition of allotment policy and private landownership, and the impact of state-sponsored irrigation and other development projects. I argue that the Tribes forged webs of affiliation and kinship to both assert their nationhood and navigate their involvement in such projects. These expressions of sovereignty constituted an Indigenous-centered vision of development in which the Tribes sought to determine the course and function of economic activities as sovereign nations. This history is the story of the tribes’ struggle to balance resistance and self-determination with strategic accommodation and adaptation, and the tough choices this entailed.

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Degree Name

History

Department Name

History

First Committee Member (Chair)

Samuel Truett

Second Committee Member

Elise Boxer

Third Committee Member

Holly Guise

Fourth Committee Member

Durwood Ball

Fifth Committee Member

Jason Scott Smith

Language

English

Keywords

Nakoda, Oceti Sakowin, Indian reservation, sovereignty, development, land, water, education, allotment

Document Type

Dissertation

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