By Jim Umhoefer
Trails Reporter
Yellow Medicine County. 8 miles southeast of granite Falls on Highway 67.
Highway map index: E-17.
Tempers were as hot as an August afternoon when the Dakota Indians destroyed the Upper Sioux Agency, in the summer of 1862. On another hot August afternoon, I wandered past the foundations of the vanished agency buildings and circled the only structure in the present-day park to survive the U.S.-Dakota Conflict. The restored brick employee duplex is now a historic site administered by the Minnesota Historical Society.
It's hard to visualize the tragic violence of that long-ago summer while strolling on the park lawn, reading historical markers. But by piecing together facts from the markers, some causes of the uprising emerge. In 1851, as pressure to open up the Dakota homeland to white settlement grew, the government engineered the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux. This treaty removed the Dakota from Iowa and Minnesota to a 20-mile-wide reservation along the upper Minnesota River.
One marker stands by the site of the Manual Labor School, where ill-trained teachers tried to transform the Dakota from hunters and trappers into farmers and carpenters. The Sisseton and Wahpeton bands who were relocated to this shoestring reservation were forced to rely on government handouts to survive. The Indians walked to the agency warehouse to collect their food on some of the same park paths we hike today. But as the marker by the warehouse foundation explains, annuity payments were often late, and food supplies were scarce. The famished Indians, already angered at the loss of their homeland and frustrated with government policy, exploded into a futile but bloody war what lasted into September of 1862. (When the agency was attacked, non-warring Dakota led many of the whites to safety.)
The countryside surrounding Upper Sioux Agency State Park has become more wooded since the days of the conflict. Murals in the interpretive center show what the land used to look like - grassy bluffs with few trees, buffalo on the prairie, a man plowing behind four oxen. The interpretive center is a useful first stop for your visit. In one room, instructive displays describe park ecosystems; in another, changing exhibits arouse the sensual curiosity of everyone. You'll find many touch-and-see objects here. My favorite was the series of smell boxes. Their olfactory challenge is successfully met by only a few.
Behind the interpretive center, a short trail drops off the prairie plateau into a hillside forest, passes under a great octopus-armed oak, and climbs back to the top. Other trails venture up and down through scenic bluffs that rise over both the Minnesota and Yellow Medicine rivers. The interpretive center, historic sites, campground and other main park facilities are spread along an open ridge between the two rivers. From the parking lots on the ridge, paths lead down the bluffs to the river-bottoms. The rugged scenery of wooded slopes, open prairie knolls and undeveloped riverbanks make Upper Sioux Agency a popular park for trail users. Hikers and horseback riders currently explore the park on about 20 miles of marked trails.
Wildlife can be observed from the trails and from vantage points atop the bluffs. The Dakota scrambled up these same prairie knolls to spot bison herds during spring and summer. One of the best overlooks is at the end of the main park road. This is a peaceful place with a commanding view of the Minnesota River Valley.
Most fishing is done from the banks of the Minnesota River, where you might land walleyes, northern, catfish or bullheads. The Minnesota is also a designated canoe route and is an easy stream for novices. The swifter Yellow Medicine River holds scrappy smallmouth bass. It is only canoeable after heavy rains with large runoff.
Upper Sioux Agency is primarily a day-use park, popular for picnics, hiking, fishing and canoeing. Space and activities abound. A ball field is just across the road from the picnic ground, and the trails and historic sites are intriguing enough to hold even a child's attention. The campground on the ridge is not heavily used, though the primitive riverside canoe campsites are favorite overnight stops for canoeists. Future plans include a semi-modern vehicle campground, some walk-in sites and larger picnic areas.
The Minnesota Historical Society administers other sites within relatively close driving range of Upper Sioux Agency. Several of these, including the Birch Coulee Battlefield, Lower Sioux Agency and Fort Ridgely, deal with U.S.-Dakota Conflict events.
Winter
Kids flock to Upper Sioux Agency State Park for its famous snow-tubing hill. During winter, the park's paths become multi-use trails for both snowmobilers and cross-country skiers. Snowshoers can roam at will. Winter campers should set up in the picnic area and can get water in the all-season interpretive center/warming house.
