WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) — Two sisters are donating a ranch they own to North Dakota's Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation.

Sisters Reba and Tillie Walker will donate the Knife River Ranch near Stanton, North Dakota, to the tribe in a ceremony on Friday. The sisters are tribal members.

The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation says the land will be used for a cultural interpretive center that will help preserve the traditions and legacy of the Hidatsa people.

The ranch is adjacent to the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site.

A statement from the tribes says the event will mark the first time Hidatsa tribe members will be able to return to this portion homeland after an 1837 smallpox epidemic emptied villages in the area.

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