Editing Lake Sakakawea (section)

== History==
[[Image:Map Pick–Sloan Missouri Basin Program.png|thumb|upright=1.1|Lake Sakakawea, Garrison Dam, and other dams and reservoirs of the [[Pick–Sloan Missouri Basin Program|Pick–Sloan Project]], and affected Indian reservations]]

The reservoir was created by construction of [[Garrison Dam]], part of a [[flood control]] and [[hydroelectric power]] generation project named the [[Pick–Sloan Missouri Basin Program|Pick–Sloan Project]] along the Missouri river. 
Garrison dam was completed in 1956. It is the second (and largest) of six main-stem dams on the Missouri River built and managed by the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]] for [[flood]] control, [[hydroelectric power]], [[navigation]], and [[irrigation]].

The creation of the lake displaced members of the [[Fort Berthold Indian Reservation]] from their villages of [[Van Hook, North Dakota|Van Hook]] and (Old) [[Sanish, North Dakota|Sanish]], which were inundated by creation of the lake. They relocated and founded the villages of [[New Town, North Dakota|New Town]], [[White Shield, North Dakota|White Shield]], and [[Mandaree, North Dakota|Mandaree]]. [[Elbowoods, North Dakota|Elbowoods]] was covered by the water, as was the original town site for Sanish to the northwest of New Town. But only a small portion of the Van Hook town site has ever been under water, the area near the old railroad tracks and elevators on the very south edge of the original town. The remainder of the Van Hook town site including the original Main Street and the residential areas to the north have not been underwater. In the last two decades Van Hook has become a thriving resort community with more residents than it ever had prior to when Lake Sakakawea filled. Yet, the US Army Corps of Engineers, as a direct consequence of poor planning, forced those living in that area of the original town site in the 1950s to evacuate. Currently, Van Hook is a lively recreational area with both year-round and summer residences. {{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

One name that had been proposed for New Town was ''Vanish'' (a [[portmanteau]] of the two previous towns' names). Elbowoods, a third reservation town where the agency headquarters, boarding school, hospital, and jail were located, was also lost to the lake. These three towns are commemorated in the names of the three campground sections at [[Lake Sakakawea State Park]], a state park located adjacent to Garrison Dam.

During a training flight in winter 1969, a [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] [[interceptor aircraft]] crashed into the western portion of the lake on March 10. The {{nowrap|[[Convair F-106 Delta Dart|F-106A Delta Dart]]}} {{nowrap|(59-0014)}}<ref name=59ser>{{cite web|url=http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1959.html |publisher=Joseph F. Baugher |title=1959 USAF serial numbers |accessdate=May 1, 2014}}</ref> was from [[Minot Air Force Base|Minot AFB]], about {{convert|60|mi|-1|spell=in}} north of the dam.<ref name=ser590014>{{cite news |url=http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=138178 |publisher=Aviation Safety |title=59-0014 |agency=ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 138178 |date=March 10, 1969 |accessdate=May 15, 2014}}</ref> The pilot ejected safely to land and the plane sank below the frozen lake surface. It was not located until more than 35 years later, in September 2004, after an extended search by a local surveyors' group.<ref name=pofplfinl>{{cite news|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/mathscience/2004-10-01-math-and-fighter-jets_x.htm |newspaper=USA Today |title=Parts of fighter plane found in lake nearly 35 years after crash |agency=Associated Press |date=October 1, 2004 |accessdate=May 15, 2014 }}</ref>