Minnesota Indian tribe buys up land to restore prairie

PRIOR LAKE, Minn. (AP) An American Indian tribe has purchased 125 acres of land in the Twin Cities suburbs and returned it to the way it used to look.

By the end of the year, the Shakopee Mdewakanton (SHOCK-ah-pee mid-ah-WAHK-tun) Sioux tribe hopes to begin restoring 450 more acres near the Twin Cities. Most of it is land that has been farmed since at least the 1880s.

Tribal vice chairman Glynn Crooks says the tribe holds the land in high regard and thinks it's important to return some of it to the way it was years ago. The tribe, which has grown prosperous on the strength of Mystic Lake casino in Prior Lake, won't disclose how much it is paying for the land.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 05-30-08 0201CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list