Upper Sioux Agency State Park closing permanently, land to be given back to native community
GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — A Minnesota state park is one step closer to being returned to the native community.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced Wednesday the Upper Sioux Agency State Park will be closed to the public beginning Feb. 16 as it prepares to transfer the land back to the Upper Sioux Community.
The Upper Sioux Agency State Park in southwestern Minnesota spans a little more than two square miles. It includes the ruins of a federal complex where officers withheld supplies from Dakota people, leading to starvation and deaths.
Minnesota made the decision to return the land during last year's legislative session.
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The transfer is tucked into several large bills covering several issues. The bills allocate more than $6 million to facilitate the transfer by 2033. The money can be used to buy land with recreational opportunities and pay for appraisals, road and bridge demolition and other engineering.
This will be the first time Minnesota transfers a state park to a Native American community, said Ann Pierce, director of Minnesota State Parks and Trails at the Department of Natural Resources.
Once the park is closed, the DNR will remove park infrastructure prior to the land transfer set to take place in mid-March.
The park will be open until 10 p.m. on its last day, Feb. 15.
The DNR says it worked with the public through last summer and fall to identify other potential investments in outdoor recreation in the area for after the park closes and is currently evaluating ideas and proposals.