Private Property Beneath the Fruited Plain: The Cold War Minuteman Missile Program and Military Use of Eminent Domain Across the Great Plains

Abstract

The Minuteman missile program was a cold war deterrence program of ICBMs buried below the Great Plains. At its peak the region housed 1,000 underground active nuclear missiles. The placement of these missiles on private farms, tribal lands, and the military use of eminent domain brings together questions about property rights, militarism, and Cold War historical perspectives. This project asks the question: How does an examination of the resistance to and government use of eminent domain to acquire private land for the housing of Minuteman Missiles in the Great Plains and on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation challenge conventional understandings of tribal sovereignty, and private property rights? My research investigates the day-to-day negotiations over land management and land acquisition with Great Plains farmers and Native members of the Mandan, Hidasta, and Arikara (MHA) federally recognized tribal nations in North Dakota through the use of multiple archives and various primary sources across the Great Plains. Bringing together legal and historical questions about property and government resistance is crucial for understanding our past and laying the groundwork for future intersectional alliances for environmental protection and fundamental freedoms.