A free presentation, ‘History of the Sioux Half-Breed Tract,’ will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Plainview Area History Center, 40 4th St. SW.
Katie Himanga, director, vice president and treasurer of the Lake City Historical Society, will discuss the 1830 Treaty of Prairie du Chien, which set aside a parcel of land west of Lake Pepin for mixed-race members of the Dakota Native American nation, known in the vernacular of the day as ‘half breeds.’
The Plainview News reports the boundary began just below the village of Chief Red Wing, running back 15 miles, then in a line parallel with Lake Pepin and the Mississippi River for 32 miles in Wabasha County, according to information at metismuseum.ca.
The ‘Half-Breed’ tract was intended to be a permanent home for the descendants of traders and their Dakota wives, according to the website. But settlers in the area claimed Indigenous land, including some within the Half-Breed Tract.
The U.S. government tried to resolve the issue by distributing scrip (certificates entitling the holders to acquire possession of portions of public land, according to online information) to eligible people, and the settlers acquired most of the land.
Visit plainviewareahistorycenter.org or visit the Plainview Area History Center Facebook site for more information.
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