The Lower Sioux Indian Community, ( Dakota: Caŋṡa'yapi; ) also known as the Mdewakanton Tribal Reservation, is an

Indian reservation An American Indian reservation is an area of land land tenure, held and governed by a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States#Description, U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation, whose gov ...

located along the southern bank of the

Minnesota River The Minnesota River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It rises in southwestern ...

in Paxton and

Sherman Sherman most commonly refers to: *Sherman (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname ** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General *M4 Sherman, a World War II American tank S ...

townships in

Redwood County, Minnesota Redwood County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 15,425. Its county seat is Redwood Falls, Minnesota, Redwood Falls, along the Redwood River n ...

. Its administrative headquarters is two miles south of Morton. The reservation is located southeast of Redwood Falls, the county seat. The area was established as part of a reservation for the

Mdewakanton The Mdewakanton or Mdewakantonwan (also spelled ''Mdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ'' and currently pronounced ''Bdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ'') are one of the sub-tribes of the Isanti (Santee) Dakota people, Dakota (Sioux). Their historic home is Mille Lacs Lake (Da ...

and Wahpekute bands of the Lower Sioux under the

Treaty of Traverse des Sioux The Treaty of Traverse des Sioux () was signed on July 23, 1851, at Traverse des Sioux in Minnesota Territory between the United States government and the Dakota people, Upper Dakota Sioux bands. In this land cession treaty, the Sisseton and Wahpe ...

in 1851 with the federal government. It originally extended about along the

and was wide. It was greatly reduced following the

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several eastern bands of Dakota people, Da ...

and various other actions. As of the 2020 census, this lower reservation had a population of 534, and a land area of .

History

The area around the reservation is primarily rural, developed in the 21st century for agricultural commodity crops of corn and soybeans. The conversion of area creeks to agricultural ditches has also altered habitat and reduced the diversity of the ecology.

Termination efforts

From the 1940s to the 1960s, the United States government (including Congress) had a policy of terminating tribes, that is, ending the special relationships that they had with the federal government. The belief was that tribes would be selected that appeared to have adapted successfully to mainstream culture: in the process, any communal land would be distributed to individual households, and individuals would become residents of their respective counties and states, and under their jurisdiction. Four Native American tribes (each associated with separate reservations) in Minnesota were identified for termination in the 1950s. A memo dated January 19, 1955 for the BIA issued from the Department of the Interior indicates additional terminations were being reviewed in proposed legislation for what were primarily Dakota tribes in southern

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, including the Lower Sioux Community in Redwood and Scott counties, the New Upper Sioux Community in Yellow Medicine County, the Prairie Island Community in Goodhue County, and about 15 individuals living on restricted tracts in Yellow Medicine County. Discussions between the BIA and the tribal Indians from the targeted area began in 1953 and continued throughout 1954. Though the Prairie Island and Lower Sioux communities drafted agreements for distribution of land to individual households and ownership, the Upper Sioux strongly opposed fee-simple title to communal tribal lands. On January 26, 1955 Senator Edward Thye introduced a bill (S704) to provide for termination of the tribes. In addition to opposition by the Dakota, regional residents objected to termination, saying that county and state expenditures might increase for the areas then within reservations, and they expressed their opposition to the committee reviewing the bill. The Minnesota Governor's Commission on Human Rights also opposed the legislation, indicating that it would "not adequately protect the interests of the Indians...". The bill died in committee, never reaching the Senate floor.

Return of land lost in the Dakota War of 1862

In 2021, the Minnesota state legislature and Minnesota Historical Society returned half of the lands to the Lower Sioux Community that were located in the former Lower Sioux Agency and were taken by the federal government as punishment after the Dakota War of 1862. This was part of their historic homeland. On February 12, 2021, the Minnesota government and

Minnesota Historical Society The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Educational institution, educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the Minnesota Terr ...

transferred ownership of 115 acres near the historic site of the Battle of Lower Sioux Agency to the Reservation. The Minnesota Historical Society owned approximately 115 acres of land while the state government owned near 114 acres. About the return of their lands, Lower Sioux President Robert Larsen said, "I don't know if it's ever happened before, where a state gave land back to a tribe. ur ancestorspaid for this land over and over with their blood, with their lives. It's not a sale; it's been paid for by the ones that aren't here anymore".

Tribal enterprises

The Mdewakanton tribe operates Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel, which began in 1984 as a

bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** B ...

facility. The casino has become a major employer for the surrounding communities. The Lower Sioux Agency, a historic site on the reservation associated with the

, is managed by the community in partnership with the

. Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel was the first

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

in the state of Minnesota. In addition to the gaming areas, Jackpot Junction features three bars, three restaurants, an

amphitheater An amphitheatre ( U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for vie ...

for live performances, and two grand

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called ''balls''. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially histori ...

s. Live music is played every weekend, usually country and occasionally rock. The casino is open 24-7 (twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week). County Highway 2 runs through the reservation, connecting it to U.S. Route 71 and

Minnesota State Highway 19 Minnesota State Highway 19 (MN 19) is a highway in southern Minnesota, which runs from South Dakota Highway 30 at the South Dakota state line near Ivanhoe, Minnesota, Ivanhoe and continues east to its eastern terminus at its Intersection (road) ...

to the northwest.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the reservation has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2020, the population of the Lower Sioux Indian Reservation was 534. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 154 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the reservation was 79.6% Native American, 9.6%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.2%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.6% from other races, and 10.1% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 10.1%

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race.

References

External links

Official websiteLower Sioux Reservation, Minnesota
United States Census Bureau

Minnesota Indian Affairs Council {{authority control American Indian reservations in Minnesota Native American tribes in Minnesota Populated places in Redwood County, Minnesota 1851 establishments in Minnesota Territory