BISMARCK, N.D. - The chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes is balking at a North Dakota lawmaker's suggestion that the tribe help pay for repairs at a historic Native American site as a way to improve state-tribal relations following the Dakota Access pipeline protests.
Erosion is a problem at the Double Ditch Historical Site, where thousands of American Indians once gathered to trade along the Missouri River.
Three Affiliated Tribes Chairman Mark Fox is rejecting the idea from Republican Rep. Jim Schmidt to pay part of the $3.5 million to restore the site, where erosion caused some graves to be exposed.
Fox says protests against four-state oil pipeline aren't related to the state's responsibilities to protect of human graves and historic sites on state-owned land.