The
Prairie Island Indian Community continues efforts to provide a safe and stable homeland for its people.
The tribe recently acquired about 1,200 acres near the city of Rochester, Minnesota, for a reported cost of $15.5 million. Plans call for the land to be placed in trust and to be used for housing.
The tribe needs additional land because options are limited on its reservation. There's little room left for development due to threats of flooding and there's only one public road in and out of the community.
Then there's the matter of the nuclear power plant located next door. Tribal citizens live in constant fear of the highly radioactive waste being stored less than a half-mile away.
“For the health and well-being of our tribe, and the future of our tribe, we need land elsewhere,” President Shelley Buck told MedCityBeat.
To aid in the land-into-trust process, the tribe asked the city council in Rochester to support its efforts. After the matter was tabled last month amid doubts, council members voted unanimously on Monday in favor of a tribally-drafted resolution that cites a "trifecta of issues that have created unwarranted hardships and concerns for the community for decades."
The tribe once had a larger land base but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flooded the reservation in the 1930s in order to build a lock and dam facility.
That left the tribe with only 300 livable acres, according to news reports.
Read More on the Story
Rochester council approves warming center plan, zoning change, tribe's request
(The Rochester Post-Bulletin August 6, 2019)
Prairie Island Indian Community’s plans for Elk Run land address concerns, offer opportunities Rochester council approves warming center plan, zoning change, tribe's request
(The Rochester Post-Bulletin July 30, 2019)
Prairie Island Indian Community hopes for support
(KIMT July 29, 2019)
Prairie Island president: Housing is main goal at Elk Run
(The Rochester Post-Bulletin July 20, 2019)
Tribe responds to concerns over its plans for the Elk Run site
(MedCityeat July 12, 2019)
Tribe Says Move to Pine Island is a Must
(KAAL July 9, 2019)
Prairie Island buys land near Pine Island
(The Minneapolis Star Tribune January 5, 2019)
Prairie Island Indian Community purchases land near Pine Island
(The Republican Eagle January 4, 2019)
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