North Dakota tribe to fight ruling giving minerals to state

FARGO, N.D. — Leaders of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation in North Dakota and others are challenging a Department of Interior opinion rolling back an Obama-era memo stating that mineral rights under the original Missouri River bed should belong to the Three Affiliated Tribes.

The memo filed May 26 by Daniel Jorjani, solicitor for the department, said a review by Historical Research Associates, Inc. shows the state is the legal owner of submerged lands beneath the river where it flows through the Fort Berthold Reservation. That contradicts a January 2017 memo by former solicitor Hilary Tompkins, the department secretary under Obama and enrolled member of the Navajo Nation.

At stake is an estimated $100 million in oil royalties waiting in escrow to be claimed as well as any future payments. Three Affiliated Tribes Chairman Mark Fox said he plans to take legal action "ASAP," likely with a federal lawsuit.

https://www.startribune.com/north-dakota-tribe-to-fight-ruling-giving-minerals-to-state/570994232/