Letter from Representative Burdick to Frank Heart Regarding Letter from Wesley D\u27Ewart Which Answers Inquiries Made by Heart, March 1, 1956

This letter, dated March 1, 1956, from United States (US) Representative Usher Burdick to Frank Heart of Raub, North Dakota encloses a letter from the Secretary of the US Interior, Wesley D\u27Ewart, responding to questions that Heart had posed regarding issues with the Three Affiliated Tribes Tribal Business Council elections and per capita payments. A handwritten note on the letter reads, per cap pmts--Fort Berthold. The enclosed letter, which is included with this document, dated February 29, 1956 from D\u27Ewart to Burdick, indicates that the US Department of the Interior recommended passage of US Senate Bill 2151 (S. 2151) providing for per capita payments and that an emergency per capita payment of $500 to each enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes be distributed immediately. D\u27Ewart\u27s letter also outlines the election problems, explaining that the inundation of the Fort Berthold Reservation by the completion of the Garrison Dam changed the district representation, necessitating a change to the constitution. However, not enough members of the tribe voted to change the constitution, so the election for new council members could not be held. D\u27Ewart says that the election problem is being worked on. See also: Letter from Frank Heart to Representative Burdick Regarding US Senate Bill 2151, January 26, 1956https://commons.und.edu/burdick-papers/1222/thumbnail.jp