The Nations

Stage 5: The Nations

Stage 5 brings the Indian Reorganization Era to the specific nations in your region. You have been building a site about federal policy. Now you document how that policy played out on the ground, for specific Tribal nations in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

The four nations in this section each have a distinct relationship to the IRA era: White Earth, Red Lake, Standing Rock, and Spirit Lake. Each demonstrates a different outcome. White Earth entered the IRA era with a heavily checkerboarded land base from the Nelson Act allotments, adopted an IRA constitution in 1936, and eventually replaced that constitution in 2009 with a document rooted in Anishinaabe law. Red Lake entered the era as a closed reservation that had resisted allotment, making its IRA experience fundamentally different from nations that had been heavily allotted. Standing Rock and Spirit Lake, on the ND/SD side, were deeply affected by allotment and fractionation before and after 1934.

The CSS

Stage 5 uses three CSS patterns you have seen before in Units 13 and 14. You are applying review techniques to new content.

Nations grid

• grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr): Two equal columns. Four cards across two rows. The same pattern as the two-column layouts you have used in previous units. Familiar on purpose.
• margin-bottom: 48px: Space between the four-card grid and the callout section that follows. Signals a visual break between two related but distinct parts of the section.

Asymmetric reform callout

• border: 1px solid var(--gold): Full-opacity gold border. Unlike the --gold-border at 22% opacity used on regular cards, this full-opacity border marks the callout as highlighted. The difference in border weight communicates emphasis before the reader reaches the content.
• grid-template-columns: 1fr 2fr: Asymmetric columns. The left column is one third of the space: a label, a title, a location note. The right column gets two thirds: the full description. You used this pattern in Unit 14's Red Lake resistance callout. Here it applies to the White Earth constitutional reform.
• align-items: start: Each column aligns to the top of the row. Without this, the shorter left column would stretch to match the height of the longer right column, and the label text would float in the middle.

Your nation card

• border-left: 4px solid var(--gold): A strong left edge accent that distinguishes this card from all others in the section. The pre-built cards have 1px solid var(--gold-border) on all four sides. This card has a 4px full-gold left edge: same accent color, much heavier, only on one side.
• border-radius: 0 12px 12px 0: Flat on the left (where the accent border is), rounded on the right. The flat left edge aligns with the thick border, creating a clean vertical line. The pattern reads as: the accent is the left wall, the card extends from it.

Fill In Your Content

Find the <!-- REPLACE: ... --> and <!-- ADD YOUR NATION --> comments in the editor.

• Section intro paragraph: Write 2 to 3 sentences in your own words introducing the regional context of the IRA era.
• Nation cards: Four cards are pre-written for White Earth, Red Lake, Standing Rock, and Spirit Lake. Read them carefully. If your research found different or more specific information, update the facts.
• Reform callout: The White Earth constitutional reform callout is pre-written. If you found additional details about this or a similar constitutional reform process in your research, add them.
• Your nation card: Find the <!-- ADD YOUR NATION --> comment. Replace the placeholder with your own research about how the IRA era affected your Tribal nation or a nation you are focusing on. Include specific facts: Did this nation adopt an IRA constitution? What was the land situation entering 1934? Has this nation undergone constitutional reform?

Why Regional Focus Matters

Federal policy is written as if it applies uniformly. The nation cards show that it did not. Red Lake and White Earth are both Anishinaabe nations in Minnesota, both affected by federal Indian policy. But their land situations entering 1934 were entirely different because of what happened to each in the allotment era. Red Lake resisted allotment. White Earth did not. The IRA era built on those different starting points.

The White Earth constitutional reform story adds something that most era sites do not include: a forward-looking example. The IRA era did not end in 1953. Its constitutions are still operating. Its legal and land consequences are still being navigated. Documenting what constitutional reform looks like, rooted in Anishinaabe law rather than federal boilerplate, connects the history to ongoing work.