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Spirit Lake
Nation
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The Spirit Lake Nation
reservation was established by Treaty between the United States Government
and the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Bands in 1867. The Reservation is located
in East Central North Dakota. According to BIA Labor Force report as of
2005 there were 5,927 enrolled members of the Spirit Lake Tribe. Total
population within the Spirit Lake Tribe boundaries is 6223.
The topography of the
Reservation is generally consistent with the Northern Plains region, with
both flat terrain and rolling hills, and some wooded areas. The major
surface water feature of the Reservation is Devils Lake, which comprises 90,000 acres
of area stretched over 200 miles. There are also numerous small lakes on
the Reservation, including; Twin
Lakes, Spring Lake, Free Peoples Lake, Elbow Lake, and Skin and Bone Lake.
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The Spirit Lake Tribe Indian
Reservation covers approximately 405 square miles primarily in
Benson County, and in the Southern part is
Eddy County, Nelson on the east boundary and
Ramsey
County to the north.
Total acres as of 1998 was as follows; total tribally owned is 26,283
acres, allotted (trust) land; (trust) is 34,026 acres, U.S. Government and
State is 375 acres. And fee land is 184,451 acres. Total acres within the
exterior boundaries is total land 245,141
acres.
The major river surface water
body is the
Sheyenne
River
, which forms the southern
boundary of the Reservation. The portion of the Sheyenne within the
Reservation is approximately 50 miles long: ultimately the
Sheyenne
River discharges into the Red river, which flows
northerly between
North Dakota and
Minnesota into
Manitoba,
Canada
. Numerous small streams
and springs within the Reservation also contribute flows to the
Sheyenne
River
. In addition, the rivers and
streams of the Reservation have substantial areas of associated wetlands
and prairie potholes.
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