Shakopee sells possible burial site to Mdewakanton Sioux Community

Shakopee Valley News

After discovering a piece of land might be an old Native American burial site, the city of Shakopee has decided to sell the land to the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

City officials acquired the property through a tax sale for $22,000 and had planned to sell it to Topaz Investment and Doggie Doo's Spa & Retreat for $225,000, until the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community voiced concerns about the possibility of a burial site.

"It's been undisturbed, so if we were to excavate there, we would find something," Shakopee Planning and Development Director Michael Kerski said during the council meeting Wednesday.

The city asked Bolton & Menck to do an archaeological survey of the area and found a high probability of finding artifacts.  The city will sell to the land to the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community for $100,000, which will go into the city's property acquisition fund.

The site is a part of the historic village on the prairie, or the Mdewakanton Dakota Tinta Otunwe. The property near Highway 101 is part of a much larger site, much of which has already been disturbed by developments in the past, according to the Minnesota archaeological site form.

The burial land does contain some city-owned utility lines. The resolution was approved on the condition that easements would be specifically outlined before the finalization of the sale so the city would be able to repair or replace its utility lines while trying not to disturb the site.

"Our goal would be to not disturb the earth because the ground has archaeological resources," Kerski said.

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community plans on seeding the land with native grasses to have "the property return to a more natural appearance," according to a city memo.

Doggie Doo's, 321 First Avenue W., sits on one of three properties the city plans to essentially give to a developer to develop into a boutique hotel downtown. The dog groomer property is valued by the county at $352,700; the city plans to buy it from Booyaah Properties for $375,000.