Stories of the Year New leadership
New leadership
MHA Nation inaugurates Mark Fox
By Jerry W. Kram
A new day dawned on the Fort Berthold Reservation on Dec. 4. That evening, a celebration at the 4 Bears Events Center marked the inauguration of a new generation of leadership of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikira Nation.
Tribal Chairman Mark Fox, newly elected segment representatives Cory Spotted Bear and Frank Grady, and incumbent Parshall/Lucky Mound Representative Mervin Packineau took their places as leaders of the Three Affiliated Tribes for the next four years. The celebration was marked with dancing, drums, food and of course, speeches.
"Now is the time we have to reestablish our economy," Fox said. "We have to work hard and build for the future. We have to build for our children. More than anything else we have to build for their future."
Fox said the path to a secure economy was self reliance. He wants the tribe to cut the strings of dependence on the federal government.
"We don’t want the federal government to dictate how we are going to live, what we are going to do and what opportunities we are going to have," Fox said. "We can do this if we generate our own power and energy. We can grow and consume our own food. We can export products and bring outside dollars in and continue to change our economy. We should become the model for Indian Country."
