Twin Buttes, North Dakota

On the rare occasion that outsiders pay attention to us, they often refer to us as the Lost Tribe.  They do not know us.  We are the Home of the Champions—and by the time we implement this plan, everyone will know us by who we really are.

Twin Buttes is at the end of the trail at the end of the road.  We are a part of the Mandan Hidatsa andArikara Nation, yet it rarely feels that way. 

Like everyone else, we seek better days ahead for our people.  We want jobs for our families.  We want better community and health facilities.  We want basic infrastructure.  We want to believe that our children have a future here in the land that we love.

We see this planning process and the priorities that we support as the beginning of a new era, but we are very cautious.  When you spend your existence being seen as the Lost Tribe, it is hard to be the Home of the Champions.  But we are determined to make our way forward.  We will do it alone if we have to.  

We know that it would be better to collaborate.  Through the efforts of the Vision West ND program, we are ready to take the risk of reaching out.  Again.

No one is paid to plan for our community.  No one is paid to carry out our dreams.Everyone that cares about our community is a volunteer.  Recently, we have organized our community, established a non-profit organization, and begun the effort to pursue our future.  This planning process has organized our thoughts and priorities.   Now we are set to move forward.

And just in time.   The oil industry impact has drawn close enough that we can hear the sounds.   Our horizon is beginning to change.   The silhouette of the drilling rig approaches from the north and west.   What has overrun some neighboring communities has not arrived yet, but it will.   We want to be proactive while we still can.

We are not the Lost Tribe.   We ARE the Home of the Champions.  And we are about to be found.

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