Dakota Datebook

Gambling and the like were a big topic of interest in 1950, with legislation targeting slot machines under consideration in Congress. Slot machines were commonly called “one-armed bandits” because they have one lever and take people’s money.

The 1930s were a turbulent time in North Dakota’s state government. Political chaos meant several offices were a revolving door, including governor and tax commissioner.

In this episode of Dakota Datebook, we'll listen to Arlene Wadsworth, enrolled member of Spirit Lake Dakota Nation, talk about how jokes are funnier in Sioux.

In this episode of Dakota Datebook, we'll listen to Aileen Little Ghost, Lakota Elder, talk about hope, faith, forgiveness, and unity.

World War I made a shambles of the European economy. Starvation was a real threat as farms became battlefields and agricultural workers became soldiers. When the United States entered the war in 1917, the country became an active partner with the allies, and Americans faced shortages of their own.

The War of 1823, often known as “The Arikara War,” forcibly opened the Upper Missouri River to trade. It also established Anglo-American military supremacy over the Upper Missouri River. This victory would be cemented by an Indian Peace Commission, an integral part of a military expedition led by General Atkinson in 1825. This commission was responsible for a series of unequal treaties throughout the region recognizing Anglo-American supremacy.

The Powder River Battles were a series of skirmishes and battles fought between U.S. troops and the Lakota, Arapaho, and Cheyenne tribes. They lasted from September 1-15, 1865.

By this date in 1823, troops of the United States Sixth Infantry were back in their barracks after a punitive expedition against the Arikaras. A generation of tensions had led to the conflict. St. Louis fur traders felt entitled to go anywhere they wanted on the Missouri River, while the Arikara felt entitled to control their own territory.

Anne Frank’s diary became available in public libraries with the publication of an English-language version around this date in 1952. A Bismarck Tribune librarian columnist described the book as “a poignant diary kept by a young Jewish girl hiding out from the Gestapo….”

Steamboats and ships were an important means of transportation in early years, and newspapers frequently reported on the shipping activity. In 1911, Williston papers published a number of interesting reports. For example, there was a note about R. C. Foster leaving to take charge of a two-deck steamer called the Henrietta, which would be making regular trips from Bakers’ Ferry to Williston with passengers and freight.