MARQUIS DE MORES
(from an old drawing)
BADLANDS
Photo by Russell Reid
BELCOURT, 115.5 m. (1,619 alt., 6,334 pop., including Indian reservation), agency headquarters for the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation, lies in a shallow valley on the southeastern border of the hills. It was named for the Rev. George Antoine Belcourt, a priest prominent in the establishment of the community. The Indians, about 95 percent of whom are of mixed Chippewa Indian and French blood, make their homes in crude cabins on small farms out in the reservation. Academic and vocational training for the children is provided by the large consolidated school in Belcourt. The Chippewa are woods Indians who when first encountered by the whites dwelt in the region of the Great Lakes. From here they pressed W., often warring with their enemies the Sioux, until ultimately their hunting grounds included the Turtle Mountain region. With the white occupation of the West their range in North Dakota was reduced until finally it was limited to this small and crowded reservation of 72 sq. m. (See Indians and Their Predecessors.)
Each year the Indians hold a sun dance (June; approx. 5 m. NE. of Belcourt; no set date or place). The ceremony lasts for several days. At the fairgrounds in Belcourt an Indian fair is conducted (Oct.).
Since 1896 the week of St. Ann has been the occasion of a retreat at Belcourt for the people of the mountains, for whom St. Ann is the patron saint. Many of the Indians bring their tipis in which they live during the retreat. The week is culminated with the feast of St. Ann (July 26, if it falls on Sun. or on Sun. following that date). On the feast day a procession is held, with hundreds participating. Many cures—none, however, authenticated by the Roman Catholic Church—have been attributed to the shrine at the Belcourt church.
DUNSEITH, 131 m. (1,715 alt., 484 pop.), scattered over level land at the edge of the Turtle Mountains, is the southern entrance to these hills. Its name means city of peace, and was selected to honor the first white man in the vicinity and also the city of Dunseith in Scotland. The town is the terminus of a G. N. Ry. branch from the main line at York (see Tour 6).
The Dunseith Gristmill was built on Willow Creek in 1887 of lumber hauled from Devils Lake by ox teams. It continued to grind for several years after steam boilers and modern machinery had come into general use, but in 1913 it was damaged by fire and has never been repaired.