Stage 1: Introducing North Dakota's Tribal Nations

STEP 1

Welcome & Land Acknowledgment

North Dakota is the homeland of diverse Indigenous peoples who have lived here since time immemorial. Today, 4 federally recognized Tribal nations call North Dakota home — representing three distinct cultural heritages.

North Dakota's four Tribal nations reflect remarkable cultural diversity:

Sioux and Dakota Nations (2) - Spirit Lake Nation and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
MHA Nation (1) - Three Affiliated Tribes: Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara
Anishinaabe Nation (1) - Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa

💡 Did You Know?

Unlike other states, North Dakota's Tribal nations represent three very distinct cultural heritages — Sioux/Dakota peoples, the ancient Missouri River nations of the MHA Nation, and Anishinaabe peoples. Each nation is sovereign, with their own government, laws, and services.

STEP 2

Start Your HTML Document

Every webpage starts with the same basic structure. Let's create the foundation of your page.

👉 Type this in the code editor → <!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
</html>

What does this mean?

<!DOCTYPE html> - The very first line of every webpage. It tells the browser "this file uses HTML5" so it knows exactly how to read and display what follows.
<html> - The opening tag that wraps your entire webpage. Everything your visitors will ever see lives inside these two tags.
</html> - The closing tag. Notice the forward slash / — that's how you tell the browser "this element ends here."

🎯 Important Rule

Every opening tag needs a closing tag! The closing tag has a forward slash: </html>. If you forget to close a tag, the browser will try to guess where it ends — and usually gets it wrong.

STEP 3

Add the Head Section

The <head> section contains information about your page that doesn't show on the page itself.

👉 Add this INSIDE your <html> tags: <head>
<title>North Dakota's Tribal Nations</title>
</head>

The <head> is the "backstage" of your webpage. The <title> inside it sets the text that appears in your browser tab — it's also what shows up as the clickable headline when your page appears in Google search results.

STEP 4

Add the Body Section

The <body> section contains everything that's visible on your webpage.

👉 Add this AFTER your </head> tag: <body>
<h1>North Dakota's 4 Tribal Nations</h1>
</body>

The <body> is where everything visitors see on your page lives. <h1> stands for "heading level 1" — the largest, most important heading on the page. Watch the preview panel → your heading should appear right away!

STEP 5

Add Information About the Sioux and Dakota Nations

Let's add a section about the two Sioux and Dakota nations of North Dakota.

Spirit Lake Nation

Ramsey, Benson & Nelson Counties

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe

Sioux & Morton Counties

👉 Add this INSIDE your <body> tags (after the <h1>): <h2>Sioux and Dakota Nations</h2>
<p>Two sovereign Sioux and Dakota nations call North Dakota home.</p>

<h2> is a section heading — one level below <h1>. <p> stands for "paragraph" and wraps any block of regular text.

STEP 6

Add Information About the MHA Nation and Anishinaabe

Now let's add North Dakota's other two Tribal nations — the MHA Nation and the Turtle Mountain Band.

Three Affiliated Tribes (MHA Nation)

Fort Berthold Reservation, Western ND

Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa

Rolette County

👉 Add this after your Sioux/Dakota section: <h2>MHA Nation and Anishinaabe</h2>
<p>North Dakota is also home to the Three Affiliated Tribes and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.</p>

🌿 What Is the MHA Nation?

The Three Affiliated Tribes — also called the MHA Nation — represent three distinct peoples: the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara. These nations have lived along the Missouri River for centuries, long before European contact. Their Fort Berthold Reservation is in western North Dakota.

STEP 7

Make It Your Own!

Now it's your turn to add more content. Try adding:

Another <h2> heading with a Tribal nation's name
A <p> paragraph with information about them
An <h3> heading (even smaller than h2)

🌟 You Did It!

You just built your first webpage and learned about North Dakota's Tribal nations. In the next stage, we'll add lists and more structure!