A year into return of Upper Sioux land, tribe and local governments look to region’s future

On a wooded bluff overlooking the Minnesota River southeast of Granite Falls a marker once informed of the burial there of Mazomani a Dakota Sioux Chief who despite his efforts to negotiate peace during the conflict of was killed by U S soldiers The marker has been removed and given to descendants of his who live in the area Nearby in the valley below the Yellow Medicine River follows a sinuous path before it empties into the Minnesota River Much of those treasured bluffs and surrounding river valley became Upper Sioux Agency State Park in a progress that was a boon for outdoor enthusiasts but an affront to Mazomani s descendants who then had to pay the park entrance fee when they requested to visit his grave That is no longer necessary after the state of Minnesota closed the park and a year ago in March returned its acres to the Upper Sioux Group While particular may lament the loss of a state park others see the transfer bringing several healing to the past conflict A contractor has been erecting a fence to contain a small herd of bison expected sometime this fall on about acres of the former park land Credit Photo by Forrest Peterson The Upper Sioux Group at this moment is working on a project to introduce a small bison herd on the newly acquired land along the Minnesota River Major with physical and spiritual meaning sometime this fall about to bison will graze there according to Jerry BigEagle the Upper Sioux Area s environmental campaign director Bringing back bison on Upper Sioux is a reason and purpose to symbolically restore wellbeing to a people who were once starving without bison wrote Jerry BigEagle Upper Sioux District Environmental plan director in an email He added To our Dakota People bison are symbolically strengthening our resolve to show our sovereignty to other nations Bison are standing beside us in solidarity of our survivability Jerry BigEagle Upper Sioux Society Environmental Operation Director stands by a post that once held a sign marking the burial site of Chief Mazomani on a bluff overlooking the Minnesota River Credit Photo by Forrest Peterson In a March ceremony in Granite Falls Gov Tim Walz and Lt Gov Peggy Flanagan looked on as Department of Natural Information Commissioner Sarah Strommen signed the transfer deed With an enrolled membership of nearly about live at the Upper Sioux District site I don t know anybody who can say they have to pay to go visit their relative s grave reported tribal chairman Kevin Jensvold speaking at a population meeting in April That was the initial catalyst for why I was convinced that I would unfailingly bring this forth in three administrations Pawlenty on to Dayton and now to Governor Walz Annually we would have to request from the state Legislature three days to hold our annual wacipi sacred summer celebration and that request would have to be made to the state Legislature and that sat wrong because the context of that park was historic tribal land Jensvold commented This year s wacipi is scheduled for Aug - Jensvold declined further comment for this article The April meeting was hosted by state Sen Gary Dahms R-Redwood Falls and state Rep Chris Swedzinski R-Ghent A panel included Jensvold representatives from the Department of Natural Guidance local regime and the Minnesota Historical Society which maintained an interpretive facility at the Upper Sioux Agency State Park which featured campsites trails for hiking and horseback riding and fishing Decades-long effort The Minnesota Legislature approved the land transfer in following other states that have returned land or management rights to tribes Similar proposals include a University of Minnesota plan to return Forestry Center lands to the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa For nearly years Jensvold persevered in a mission to return ownership of the state park land to the Upper Sioux Locality often going against a current of local help for the park embodied in part by the Friends of Upper Sioux Agency State Park In March he testified before the Senate Committee on Context Surroundings and Legacy recalling an infamous agreements in which the tribe would cede million acres of land so the state of Minnesota could be formed in exchange for food and money Abetted by dishonest agents that food did not arrive a situation that escalated into the U S -Dakota War of Jensvold declared burial sites on the land are known to the United States and countless others known only to the Dakota Other factors weighing in favor of the transfer included the closure and need to relocate State Highway through the park part of which had sloughed down a hillside and repairs needed for the park headquarters and interpretive center The highway closure created the dissection of that park and that is one of the catalysts for this request Jensvold recounted the committee The park headquarters building has been demolished Historical markers stand in front of the former Upper Sioux Agency headquarters which was reconstructed in Credit Photo by Forrest Peterson The land transfer is expected to take several years to complete Finding new recreation More than people attended the April inhabitants meeting a great number of of them taking turns at the microphone to express their views on the transfer of the park which covered about square miles A few claimed local park supporters had not learned of the transfer until in the last few days This past winter and spring the DNR and the local units of authorities hosted meetings about the state funding and the need for something to replace the recreation the park offered We have engaged with the local units of authorities on a very regular basis reported Jeremy Losinski parks and trails manager in the DNR s South Region adding that Jensvold did attend those meetings The agreement with the counties and the city expires in three years with an option to renew for another three years While ordinance made the park land transfer a foregone conclusion the DNR received comments from the masses at several meetings and from an online form People expressed a range of encouragement and opposition to the land transfer and process states a DNR summary Where you live the quality of life is very essential and having recreation is very significant to that Losinski mentioned It was and still is a sensitive process the transfer of land The former park is a very sacred place to the people and that has an impact Money for progress To offset the loss of a state park the ordinance included an appropriation of million each to Yellow Medicine and Renville counties and the city of Granite Falls for recreational improvement They can determine how the money will be spent with review and approval by state stated Losinski We want to make sure the funds are used in a long-term assets new or improvements to existing facilities The Yellow Medicine County Parks Committee is right now pursuing options to add additional land to current county parks noted County Administrator Angie Steinbach in an email message In Renville County a committee is still researching and analyzing options so those recommendations haven t been made yet but I believe the bulk of it will be used on enhancements and improvements to our existing Skalbekken county park County Administrator Lisa Herges announced in an email message A Granite Falls city official declined to comment Forrest Peterson is a Greater Minnesota-based freelance writer The post A year into return of Upper Sioux land tribe and local governments look to region s future appeared first on MinnPost