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LSP Supports Return of State Park to Upper Sioux Community

This Land Rightfully Belongs to the Upper Sioux Community

April 10, 2023

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Note: The Upper Sioux Agency State Park is located in western Minnesota’s Yellow Medicine County. For years, leaders of the Upper Sioux Community have asked to have the park land, which is sacred to them, returned to the community. The park is adjacent to the Upper Sioux Community and holds several burial sites and other sites of deep cultural significance. Currently, legislation is moving through the Minnesota House and Senate that could lead to the transfer of the park to the Upper Sioux Community. As the West Central Tribune recently reported, there is growing community support for this transference. The Land Stewardship Project’s State Policy Committee and our Land Access and Land Legacy Steering Committees both support Indigenous land return, and LSP’s Land Legacy Policy prioritizes such transferences. As a result, LSP has recently written a statement in support of transferring the park over to the Upper Sioux Community. Here is that statement:

Since its founding, the Land Stewardship Project has worked on behalf of family farms, sustainable agriculture, and rural communities. Additionally, the Land Stewardship Project is committed to advancing racial justice, food security for all people, and Indigenous land return. To that end, LSP is building relationships with tribal nations that have plans to address land access, food sovereignty, and restoration of ecological function.

Our vision is for revitalized rural communities, thriving family farms, a healthy environment, and an equitable, just society. This vision will be strengthened with the return of the whole 1,400 acres of Upper Sioux State Park to the Upper Sioux Community. This is why the Land Stewardship Project fully supports the current bill introduced by the Minnesota Legislature to return the land known as the Upper Sioux Agency State Park to the Upper Sioux Community.

We celebrate the Upper Sioux Community’s process of restoring its original lands and protecting the integrity of burial sites, as well as exploring food sovereignty for its members. We know that the Dakota people stewarded this land for thousands of years, and that land return is in the best interest of this culturally, historically, and socially important site. This land rightfully belongs to the Upper Sioux Community according to the terms of the 1851 Traverse des Sioux Treaty.  The return of this land to the Upper Sioux Community offers an opportunity to support Dakota sovereignty, serve justice, and create pathways to heal and steward relationships in western Minnesota, with each other and with the land.

We also recognize that accessible green spaces and wild spaces are rare and precious in this region of Minnesota, and that this park has been a beloved space by many of the local residents. That is why LSP is committed to advocating and organizing for additional green space development in this region, to increase habitat for native species of animals and plants, and increase access for residents to enjoy those public spaces. We see this as an opportunity to develop new public access acres in partnership with the Upper Sioux Community, and increase protected land and habitat in the Minnesota River Valley. The return of the Upper Sioux State Park to the Upper Sioux Community will ultimately benefit the entire region as we direct the Department of Natural Resources and community resources to steward and protect more green spaces in the western Minnesota region.

We look forward to supporting the Upper Sioux Community and the surrounding communities moving forward.

For more information, contact LSP’s Scott DeMuth, Robin Moore, Amy Bacigalupo, Nick Olson, or Matthew Sheets.

Category: Blog
Tags: racial justice • tribal sovereignty • Upper Sioux Agency State Park • Upper Sioux Community

Upcoming Events

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August 2025

Thursday August 14

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
LSA-COPAL Ice Cream Social/Reunión de Helados!
Thursday August 14
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
LSA-COPAL Ice Cream Social/Reunión de Helados!
Sauk River Park, 206 5th Ave NE, Melrose, MN 56352, USA

Land Stewardship Action (the Land Stewardship Project’s partner organization) and COPAL (Communities Organizing Latine Power and Action) invite you to an ice cream social at Sauk River Park in Melrose on Thursday, August 14. There will be sweet treats and opportunities to connect with those in your community, many of whom you might not know yet. This is a time to come together over our shared vision for a better future rooted in community, diversity, fairness, health, and democracy.

If you’re able, please register ahead of time through the link below so we can get an idea of numbers. Feel free to pass the invite on to others in the community as well — the more the merrier!

You can register here. 
 
For more information, contact Land Stewardship Action’s Emily Minge at eminge@landstewardshipproject.org.

Friday August 15

9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Managed Grazing & Soil Health Field Day: Rush City
Friday August 15
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Managed Grazing & Soil Health Field Day: Rush City
10815 555th St, Rush City, MN 55069, USA

Join the Minnesota Soil Health Coalition at Jon Steven’s Maple Grove Farm for a field day focused on managed grazing and other methods to build the health of soils. Connect with other farmers and learn from the leaders in Minnesota on soil health. Featured speakers: Tom Cotter, Brady Wulf, Myron Sylling, and Joe Ailts. Free lunch by Maxwell’s Southern BBQ. Details are here.

Saturday August 16

12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Soil Health Master Class: Morris
Saturday August 16
12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Soil Health Master Class: Morris
Old No 1 Bar & Grill, 412 Atlantic Ave, Morris, MN 56267, USA

Details are here.

Monday August 18

All Day
Soil Health Master Class: Worthington
Monday August 18
Soil Health Master Class: Worthington
At the Barn, 1815 East Ave, Worthington, MN 56187, USA

Details are here.

Tuesday August 19

10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Field Day: Organic Grain Soil Health, Testing & an Introduction to Agroforestry
Tuesday August 19
10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Field Day: Organic Grain Soil Health, Testing & an Introduction to Agroforestry
Spring Green, WI 53588, USA

During this University of Wisconsin Organic Grain Resource and Information Network field day, join Gary Zimmer, Patrick Michaels, and Sandy Syburg as they discuss cover cropping for nitrogen, testing to make informed soil health decisions, and the work of the Rye Revival organization. Attendees will tour the organic grain farm and get an introduction to the farm’s expanding agroforestry enterprise.
 
For more information and to register, click here. 

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