LYON COUNTY, Iowa ( Iowa Capital Dispatch ) – In the far northwest corner of Iowa, a mown trail winds among burial mounds and artifacts of the Oneota people, a cultural grouping of Native American nations who lived, farmed and traded along the Big Sioux River for centuries, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports .
Despite the well-documented, significant history of the place, most Iowans would be hard pressed to find the Blood Run National Historic Landmark, or even know it exists.
The site is dotted with large earthen mounds known to hold Oneota remains and artifacts. About 200 of the estimated over 1,000 acres of cultural significance are protected by the state, and marked with brown and yellow signs from the Department of Natural Resources that read, “Removal or disturbance of any cultural resource is prohibited.”
But, just beyond the sign and a barbed-wire fence, the same mounds can be seen on private property, under the stubby remains of a just-harvested corn field.
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