Winter Village of the Minatarees

Building Fort Mandan

New Year's Celebration

Reporting to the President

Mandan Buffalo Calling Ceremony

Reporting to the President

In early April 1805, Captain Lewis and his co-commander compiled a remarkable summary of what they had learned thus far about Native Americans into a preliminary report to the President. Organized around nineteen questions, their “Statistical View of the Indian Nations” contained information regarding each tribe’s name (A), location (I), their current trading partners (J), and the dollar value of the goods they might require per year (L), as well as the market value of the furs they might produce (M).

When published in February 1806, this report represented the first official word from the government on the expedition’s progress.

Message from the President of the United States, Communicating Discoveries Made in Exploring the Missouri, Red River, and Washita, by Captains Lewis and Clark, Dr. Sibley, and Mr. Dunbar, 1806.