Bismarck Tribune

By LAUREN DONOVBy LAUREN DONOVAN

FOUR BEARS PENINSULA They streamed to the river in beaded buckskins and khaki tourist shorts, in moccasins and sport sandals.

They were young and old, white and Plains Indian and no one special and everyone special. Hot children begged their mothers to let them go into the water when they got there and some were allowed to sit in the water and play.

There, by the beautiful river, this odd, incongruous mix of people gathered in wave in farewell, the chatter swelling to party loud.

The young Sakakawea so felt the part she played, she shed tears that everyone understood.

It was stirring to stand in the sunshine and watch the historical drama of Lewis and Clark's leave-taking from the homeland of Sakakawea Sunday.

The end of the bicentennial commemoration of the explorers' expedition here in North Dakota mirrors historical time.

The expedition left 200 years ago and like on Sunday, left from a shoreline crowded in farewell, and took their leave on home to St. Louis, Mo.

Then, unlike now, the faces on the shore were all of a darker skin, with lustrous hair and dark eyes of the Plains Indians.

The moment summed up four days of commemoration, the 14th of 15 Lewis and Clark signature events, this one hosted by the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation.

Chairman Tex Hall in full headdress stood at the shore and shook the hand of explorer William Clark's great-great-great-grandson, who has for nearly three years led a reenacting corps up the river and back down again.

"Thank you brother," Hall said to Clark. "It's been an honor."

For his part, Clark told the chairman that he couldn't thank him enough. "We've been part of your family."

The dugout canoes and pirogue boat pulled away from the shore, pushed by a helpful northwest breeze. Keith Bear played his flute, the beautiful tones drifting ahead, leading the way down the water.

Soon, the towering bluffs that bank the Missouri River, now flooded by the Garrison Dam, dwarfed the small water party. For one last time, they boomed the cannon in salute.

So much had changed and yet so much, still the same.

Hall said he was pleased by the success of the signature event and that he felt something in his heart when he listened the ancient language of his people being spoken in farewell.

He said the tribes would have welcomed more people, though thousands did wander through the commemoration site since events started Thursday.

Hall said the heartfelt moments and friendship the tribes gained made it "truly a huge success."

He said visitors helped remind him of the beauty of the tribes' homeland.

"It's such a beautiful place and we take it for granted," he said.

Now, with the bicentennial over for the Three Affiliated Tribes, Hall said it's time to build on what was learned and experienced.

The opening of the west, brought about in part by Lewis and Clark, changed life forever for the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara.

So, too, did the construction of Garrison Dam, which flooded all that was left of the Missouri River they still had claim to.

Hall said that if the U.S. government ever issued an official apology for that singular destruction, an era of healing might finally begin.

As the dugouts and pirogue drifted away, both in real time and history, Hall's thoughts drifted to the future.

"Now we have to decide, what do we want the river to be?" he said.

(Reach reporter Lauren Donovan at 888-303-5511 or lauren@;westriv.com.)