[Henchman]

The MANDANS are extinct as a tribe. They were decimated by the diseases brought by LEWIS and CLARK. We celebrate their journey this year ... but do Native Americans celebrate, even if Celts? I ran into a woman who is a Native American. She stated she was part MANDAN. The tribe was not totally wiped out but had to assimilate with other Native Americans, or perish entirely.

[Drammach]

http://www.kodie.demon.co.uk/mandan6.htm

The western epidemic of 1837 broke the powerful Mandans and Hidatsa tribes, reducing the Mandans from 1,600 souls to 150. The remnants of the Mandan, the Hidatsa and Arikara tribes are now in Montana. They have made a comeback since the great smallpox epidemic and now number about 1,700 for all three tribes or less than one fifth their population at the height of their power.