Bison Herd Makes a Powerful Return to Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Land in the South Metro

Ten female bison arrived Nov. 29 and now graze on land owned by the tribe.

Ten female bison now roam land in the southwest metro, their return part of an effort by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community to forge renewed cultural and spiritual connections between tribal members and the animals.

The American plains bison are sacred to community members, who consider them relatives. The bison, also known as pte — pronounced puh-TAY — have been settling in on 165 acres of tribal land near County Road 83 and Eagle Creek Boulevard in Shakopee.

The animals came on Nov. 29. Fifty to 70 tribal members witnessed their arrival, holding a ceremony to welcome them, said Cyndy Milda, the community’s cultural outreach organizer. The animals haven’t roamed freely in Minnesota since 1858.

“Having not seen them on Shakopee land for that long of time, it was just really powerful,” Milda said.

Their return will help tribal members learn more about who they are, she said.

“We were near extinction along with the bison in the 1860s,” she said.

The bison came from the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate tribe in South Dakota, who gifted 25 of them to the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) after the SMSC awarded them a grant. For now, 10 is enough, Milda said.