Destination Sites
How to get there: Located three miles south of Granite Falls on Highway 23
What you will find: A quiet community. Opportunities for the public are at Prairie’s Edge Casino Resort where you will find great food, a hotel and gaming.
Services at this site: Yes
The Upper Sioux Community is called by the Dakota name Pejuhutazizi Kapi, which means “the place where they dig for yellow medicine”.
With the exception of a short period of time in the late 1800s following the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, Dakota have always occupied the area bordering the Minnesota River Valley. After the war, the Dakota were forcibly removed to reservations located elsewhere, in other states, or voluntarily fled to avoid harm. Some of those who survived defied federal and state governments and later returned to their homeland.
In 1938, 746 acres of original Dakota lands in Minnesota were returned to the Dakota and the Upper Sioux Community came into existence. Provisions for governing the community were adopted, and a board of trustees was elected to carry out the responsibilities identified in these provisions. In 1995, the provisions were modified and the governing document is now called the Constitution of the Upper Sioux Community. In the late 1980s, the legal standing of tribes as sovereign nations was acknowledged in the highest federal courts. In 1990, following these court decisions, the Upper Sioux Community built and opened Firefly Creek Casino which was later moved and called Prairie’s Edge Casino Resort. Prairie’s Edge Casino Resort, proudly owned & operated by the Upper Sioux Community, is located three miles south of Granite Falls and offers luxurious hotel rooms and suites, gaming, exceptional cuisine, and a spacious Convention Center.
Things to Do: Destination Site, Outdoor Activities
