Legislators Push for Minnesota to Return a State Park to Dakota Tribe

A bill authored by Minnesota House Representative Zack Stephenson of Coon Rapids seeks to return the Upper Sioux Agency Park, which sits on stolen land, to the Upper Sioux Community.

If passed into law, the Granite Falls park would be closed and the land transferred back to the Dakota tribe, who were unfairly pushed out following the US Dakota War of 1862.

The agency was established to ration out monetary payments and provisions to the tribe, as stipulated in the treaty “agreement.”

Of course, the agency often neglected the tribe and, out of desperation, they revolted. A bloody battle ensued, which resulted in the execution of 38 men from the tribe—the country’s largest mass execution to date.

A community meeting was held last month to discuss the land transfer. State legislators, Minnesota DNR representatives, the Minnesota Historical Society, the mayor of Granite Falls, and the Chair of the Upper Sioux Community were all in attendance. Nearly 200 community members also attended to learn about the history of the land and the proposed plan.

According to a statement made by the Upper Sioux Community Board of Trustees, returning the land to the Upper Sioux Community will acknowledge “a historic wrong inflicted upon the Dakota people.”

“The land carries painful memories from our earliest contact with the United States and the state of Minnesota.”

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