Andes set for author visit at Minot State

MINOT, N.D. - The Minot State University Native American Cultural Center, the MSU Diversity Council, and the Gordon B. Olson Library are proud to announce author and Minot State grad Hunter Andes will be on campus for an author visit during the University's Native American Cultural Celebration taking place in November.

Andes, the author of "The Elders: Stories from Fort Berthold," will discuss his book during the author visit on Nov. 7 at 3:30 p.m. in the Gordon B. Olson Library.

"Online research would report that the creation of the Garrison Dam was a contractual transaction; however, the people who contributed to the writing of 'The Elders' have a different view of this 1940s and 1950s U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project," said Annette Mennem, director of the Minot State Native American Cultural Center. "The event provides the campus and community with an opportunity to hear about the writing of this book and hear from the author."

"The Elders: Stories from Fort Berthold," explores the relocation of settlements Elbowoods, Nishu, Van Hook, and others, to build the Garrison Dam. In 1953, 1,700 individuals were relocated for the creation of Lake Sakakawea despite the Three Affiliated Tribes' objection. Andes' book explores those events through the eyes of four elders who shared their adult experiences living in the bottomlands and their subsequent relocation.

Andes held a series of interviews with Marilyn Hudson and Edward "Ed" Hall, Parshall residents formerly from rural Elbowoods, and Gerald "Jerry" White and Almit Breuer, both from White Shield and formerly rural Nishu. The basis of the book was first published as a newspaper series in the McClean County Independent.

"I want people to understand what happened," Andes said in a Minotstateu.edu student feature story in 2020. "I feel like a lot of people don't understand; I feel like a lot of people don't have empathy for what the (Fort Berthold) Reservation is like today because they don't understand what truly happened.

"There was a series of unfortunate events caused by the federal government and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; there were alternative options available. In the words of Ed Hall, you might say it was a string of bad luck."

The event is free and open to the public, and books will be available for purchase.