NAME ORIGIN: The Dakota name Inyan Wakagapi is derived from rock markings on hills near the village and means “Place of Sacred Markings”. The name Cannon Ball is generally used by residents. The name Cannon Ball dates l back to 1880 when the Post Office was officially named. This name refers to rock formations resembling cannon balls which are found in the Cannon Ball River.
GEOGRAPHY: The project area is located in the extreme northeast corner of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in Sioux County, North Dakota. The total area encompasses approximately 10,000 acres of mixed grass and croplands within the tribal district of Cannon Ball (pop. approx. 735). It is bounded on the north by the Cannon Ball River, on the west by North Dakota Highway 1806, on the east by the Missouri River and on the south by Beaver Holes Creek. The capital city of Bismarck lies 40 miles due north. The village of Cannon Ball, population 400 is situated midway between the towns of Fort Rice and Fort Yates. The Reservation is made up of seven administrative districts. Cannon Ball district includes both Cannon Ball village and the small town of Solen.
Natural resources such as cottonwood trees, fruit trees and arable land were inundated by the reservoir. The village site is characterized by intense prairie winds, minimal vegetation and highly alkaline water. The residential section consists of 90 houses, two-thirds of which are located in a central town cluster. During the winter months the temperature can drop to as low as -30°F.
In the summer, temperatures soar to 100°F and over. The dominant landmarks are twin buttes which lie to the northwest of the most densely populated residential section. Just-beyond the buttes is the hill that gives the Inyan Wakagapi Human Development Project its name. At the top of the hill are said to be markings, sacred to the community.
POPULATION: Standing Rock Reservation has a population of approximately 10,000, about half of whom are Indian. Diverse tribal memberships live here, but a sense of the Sioux Nation remains. Its citizens are members of the Hunkpapa and Yanktonai branches of the Sioux tribe who were relocated here in the latter part of the 19th century. The Reservation is governed by the Tribal Council. The Bureau of Indian Affairs exercises considerable influence in administration and decision making and many of these posts are filled by Indians. The Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal offices are located in Fort Yates. Numerous federal programs and grants are available to Indian reservations and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
The educational facility is Cannon Ball Elementary School which serves 87 children from kindergarten through sixth grade. Some village children board at schools in Fort Yates. Junior and senior high school students attend Solen High School and commute 26 miles rs each day. A total of 132 students from Cannon Ball are enrolled in public schools with an 80% average attendance rate. The median completed education level is grade 11. Public facilities include a deteriorated community center, three churches, an American Legion Hall, and one post office. A health clinic is serviced two days a month by a registered nurse.
Two causes of death have increased dramatically over the past 20 years: cirrhosis of the liver has quadrupled, and the rate of suicide has more than doubled. There is one gas station open every day and a small confectionery located one mile south of town. There are no grocery or retail stores within the area. The majority of the housing is government constructed, single family residences. The average purchase price is $5,000, average rental rate is $53 per month and 80% of the residents are in the ‘ process of buying homes. A number of log houses have been constructed free of charge by the tribe for the elderly. Nearly all homes have electricity, water and heating systems.
Community homes are supplied by a water tank located on a hill to the south. Outlying homes have either well water or transport water from the village in milk cans. There are 23 listed telephones, of which five belong to public facilities. The unemployment rate is 34%, rising drastically during winter months. Employment opportunities are either government-subsidized work programs such as the Tribal Work Experience Program or seasonal farm labor. The majority of the area’s ranch operations are owned by non-Indians, leasing land from individuals or the tribal offices.
CHALLENGES: The Tribal Council promotes and supervises a diversity of economic, social and cultural programs. There has been a significant upsurge in Congressional activity affecting Indians over the past ten years. These shifts, coupled with special jurisdictions by state and county governments and private service agencies, create great complexity in the services, laws and administration of the reservation. It has become obvious that funds alone cannot create the sense of social participation which existing programs intend.
High unemployment, vandalism and alcohol abuse are considered by residents to be major problems. Yet an emerging mood indicates that Cannon Ball residents are ready to take a fresh look at their future.
HISTORY: In 1964 some residents of Cannon Ball were forced to move when damming of the Missouri River formed the Oahe Reservoir. A new location for the community was found above the river. This move is regarded as a significant turning point in its history.
Focus was to establish structures and services currently lacking, develop a self-sufficient economic base and showcase cultural heritage. The community is located on Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Though a diverse tribal membership lives here, the community culture focuses on maintaining the unique cultural heritage of the Sioux Nation. The Tribal Council promotes and supervises a diversity of economic, social and cultural programs including placemaking initiatives, community newsletter and a shopping center. Inyan Wakagai has recently gained international support in its effort to shut down the gas pipeline which is projected to cross the reservation, destroying land and water resources surrounding the community.
The Inyan Wakagapi Human Development Consultation was the initial step in a comprehensive development demonstration project. The project addresses both social and economic problems in a comprehensive development program. It was begun through a cooperative effort of village and tribal leadership in conjunction with the Institute of Cultural Affairs. Their intention was to establish structures and services now lacking, to develop a self-sufficient economic base and to involve the creative potential of the residents. The project was seen as a pilot program, the methods of which could be reduplicated on other reservations and in rural communities.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
A commercial center includes a café, general store, laundromat and post office and is managed and operated by residents.
The metal fabrication industry and irrigated truck farm provides jobs and training.
Paved streets, nine community buildings constructed, rehabilitation, street signs and a mural have dramatized new community identity.
Seventy-five residents have received social program and economic skills training.
A 24-hour security force, a day care program and better health care services have improved the quality of life.
Inyan Wakagapi hosted an HDTS to train leadership for three new communities to begin a Human Development Cluster on the reservation.
