# Lake Pepin Half-Breed Tract *A tract of about 320,000 acres at Lake Pepin set aside under the 1830 Treaty of Prairie du Chien for mixed-race Dakota citizens.* The **Lake Pepin Half-Breed Tract**, also called the **Half-Breed Tract**, was a land reserve at [[Lake Pepin]] in what is now [[Minnesota]].[^1][^2] It originated in the 1830 [[Treaty of Prairie du Chien]].[^1] It covered about 320,000 acres, roughly twenty-five miles by thirty-two, and was set aside for mixed-race [[Dakota]] citizens.[^3] According to the historical record cited in the project's at-issue file, the tract was converted to scrip in July 1854 at the urging of territorial delegate [[Henry Rice]]. The scrip was distributed in spring 1857 at [[Wabasha]] and Red Wing.[^3] That record states that sale of the scrip was nominally prohibited, and that speculators bought it cheaply.[^3] In May 1858, the month Minnesota became a state, a federal resolution affirmed land rights for settlers who had occupied the tract since 1851 and 1852.[^4] On October 13, 2025, [[Mdewakanton]] "half-breed" Lake Pepin descendants filed suit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. They seek about $5 billion and federal recognition.[^5] The record available to this article gives no docket number and no status beyond the filing.[^5] ## Who - **Intended holders.** The tract was set aside for mixed-race Dakota citizens.[^3] - **Territorial delegate.** Henry Rice, territorial delegate, urged the July 1854 conversion of the tract to scrip.[^3] - **Successors and allotment chains.** The project's validated claim record names Alexander Faribault as a fur-trader family successor on the tract.[^6] The same record links Samuel and Gideon Pond to a mission-allotment chain into the tract.[^6] The record does not set out the terms of either chain. - **Settlers.** The May 1858 resolution concerned settlers who had occupied the tract since 1851 and 1852.[^4] The source record describes that occupation as illegal.[^4] - **Descendants and counsel.** The 2025 plaintiffs are Mdewakanton/"half-breed" Lake Pepin descendants. Their counsel is [[Erick Kaardal]].[^5] ## What The tract was a reserve of about 320,000 acres set aside in 1830 for mixed-race Dakota citizens.[^3] Its origin lies in the Treaty of Prairie du Chien.[^1] In July 1854 the land entitlement was converted to scrip, a paper instrument.[^3] The historical record states two things about that scrip. First, its sale was nominally prohibited. Second, speculators bought it cheaply and converted it into Lake Tahoe timber, Nevada silver-rush land, California redwoods, and Minnesota iron ore country.[^3] This rests on a single historical-record source in the at-issue file.[^3] The record does not establish how, or whether, the prohibition on sale was enforced.[^3] ## When - **1830:** The tract originated in the Treaty of Prairie du Chien.[^1] - **1851:** The Treaties of Traverse des Sioux and [[Mendota]] are, according to the 2025 complaint as summarized in the project's record, the instruments that removed the tract's protections.[^5] - **1851 and 1852:** Settlers occupied the tract.[^4] - **July 1854:** The tract was converted to scrip at Henry Rice's urging.[^3] - **Spring 1857:** The scrip was distributed at Wabasha and Red Wing.[^3] - **May 1858:** In the month of Minnesota's admission as a state, a federal resolution affirmed the occupying settlers' land rights.[^4] The source record states that this converted the occupation into title by act of Congress.[^4] - **October 13, 2025:** Descendants filed suit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The filing date was [[Indigenous Peoples' Day]].[^5] ## Where - The tract lay at Lake Pepin.[^2] - It measured roughly twenty-five miles by thirty-two.[^3] - The 1857 scrip distribution took place at Wabasha and Red Wing.[^3] ## How The tract passed out of the hands of its intended holders by two documented routes. - **Scrip.** First, the land entitlement became a transferable paper instrument in 1854. That instrument carried a prohibition on sale, and the source record describes it as nominal.[^3] Speculators then purchased the scrip.[^3] - **Federal resolution.** Second, a federal resolution in May 1858 affirmed the rights of settlers who had been on the tract since 1851 and 1852.[^4] The 2025 complaint, as summarized, alleges a further point. It grounds its claim in the 1830 treaty and in the 1851 Treaties of Traverse des Sioux and Mendota, which it says removed the tract's protections.[^5] ## How much - **Area:** The tract covered about 320,000 acres.[^3][^5] - **Claim:** The 2025 Court of Federal Claims suit seeks about $5 billion, along with federal recognition.[^5] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue file carries two entries on the tract. Both are drawn from its *Dakota Founding Instruments* compilation of September 2, 2026, section *VII. The Founding Instruments — Still on the Books*. 1. **Entry AI-Dakota-091** sets the 1830 reserve for mixed-race Dakota citizens beside two later events: - the 1854 scrip conversion; - the purchase of that scrip by speculators despite a nominal bar on sale.[^3] 2. **Entry AI-Dakota-092** sets the May 1858 federal resolution beside the 1851–1852 occupation it affirmed. It notes that the resolution came in the same month as statehood.[^4] ## In the Minnesota record ### What - A reserve of about 320,000 acres, set aside in 1830 for mixed-race Dakota citizens.[^1][^3] - Converted to scrip in July 1854.[^3] ### Where - At Lake Pepin.[^2] - Scrip distributed at Wabasha and Red Wing.[^3] ## Notes [^1]: Library of Congress, *Treaty of Prairie du Chien* (1830) — origin of the Half-Breed Tract in the 1830 treaty (claim:link row 21). https://www.loc.gov/ [^2]: MNopedia (Minnesota Historical Society), *Half-Breed Tract* — overview of the tract (claim:link row 23). https://www.mnopedia.org/place/half-breed-tract [^3]: Minnesota Historical Society, historical record as cited in *Dakota Founding Instruments*, sec. VII (2026-09-02), at-issue entry AI-Dakota-091 — 320,000 acres, dimensions, July 1854 scrip conversion at Henry Rice's urging, spring 1857 distribution at Wabasha and Red Wing, nominal sale prohibition, purchase by speculators. https://www.mnhs.org/ [^4]: Minnesota Historical Society, historical record as cited in *Dakota Founding Instruments*, sec. VII (2026-09-02), at-issue entry AI-Dakota-092 — May 1858 federal resolution affirming land rights of settlers on the tract since 1851 and 1852. https://www.mnhs.org/ [^5]: *The Instrument No One Will Name* (densified, refreshed 2026-06-18), item [46], validated passage — U.S. Court of Federal Claims suit filed Oct. 13, 2025: ~$5 billion, federal recognition, counsel Erick Kaardal, grounded in the 1830 and 1851 treaties. The passage cites CBS Minnesota, FindLaw, Lawyer Monthly and a complaint mirror; none of these URLs is in the pack. [^6]: Minnesota Historical Society — Alexander Faribault as a fur-trader family successor on the tract; Samuel and Gideon Pond in a mission-allotment chain into the tract (claim:link rows 26–27). https://www.mnhs.org/