MSU Celebrating Diversity - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

MSU Celebrating Diversity

A thirty percent increase in North Dakota oil production this year over last year has been predicted by the state Department of Mineral Resources.

The Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation has played a big role in making North Dakota number two in the nation for crude oil production ---

and the tribe is currently working with state and oil business partners to ensure environmental impacts are minimized.

Tonight, Tribal Historic Preservation Office historian Calvin Grinnell will lecture on the tribal government's seven departments directly associated with oil and the environment --- including safety measures for Lake Sakakawea and the two new departments for the refinery and truck traffic.

(Calvin Grinnell, Tribal Historic Preservation Office Historian) "It's a blessing and it's a curse. We have increased traffic accidents. Increased traffic. Threats to our environment and we're trying to deal with that."

The Oil Impact on Native Cultural Landscapes lecture is open to the public tonight at seven in MSU's Alshire Theater.