The Free Press, Mankato, MN - From reservation to community

Wed, Nov 25 2009

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The Jackpot Junction Casino near Morton has brought economic opportunity to the members of the Lower Sioux Agency.
John Cross / The Free Press

Good Thunder and his wife, Snana, were some of the first Dakota to settle on the Lower Sioux reservation, moving there in 1884. The reservation was sparsely populated in the years following the 1862 Dakota-U.S. Army conflict because many of the Dakota were imprisoned or fled the area.
Submitted photo /

From reservation to community

By Tim Krohn
Free Press Staff Writer

The casino now has nearly 60 blackjack tables and 1,200 slots.

The Dakota Inn Motel has 122 rooms and there is an RV park, convention center and golf course on site.

While the state has some criminal and legal jurisdiction over the Lower Sioux, the community has its own civil court system and administers its own social programs and community health services.

Many children attend public school in Redwood Falls.

However, concern by parents of their children’s’ treatment led the Dakota to open an Indian-focused charter school in Morton.

The tribe provides financial help to any member wishing to get education beyond high school.

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