A group planning to reopen Grand Mound, a Native American burial mound located west of International Falls, is meeting again to continue discussions begun last week.
Minnesota Historical Society staff, Native American officials and Koochiching County officials, among others are expected to meet Friday, weather permitting, to "synthesize" the discussion they had last week, which was intended to solidify the community and interpretive needs at the site, according to Ben Leonard, the Minnesota Historical Society's manager of community outreach and partnerships.
After more than 30 years as a state historic site, Grand Mound was closed to the public in 2007 amid declining visitorship and concerns about treating a burial site as a tourist attraction. Grand Mound's use dates back to the Laurel Indians in 200 B.C., and it's considered the largest prehistoric structure in the Upper Midwest.
There aren't any firm plans to reopen the site yet, but the Historical Society will use the discussions taking place this month to create specific recommendations for the Grand Mound site, staff position based at the site and partnerships, he wrote in an email to the News Tribune.
The process to reopen the site has been ongoing for two years and Leonard said he doesn't believe it will be much longer before a plan for Grand Mound is completed. Leonard said he's considering a timeline where staffing at the site begins in the fall of 2017 and the site becomes accessible to the public in 2018.
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"I hope this Friday's meeting defines what work remains and how long that will take. I suspect we should be ready early in the new year to release it to the community," Leonard wrote.
The plan is expected to include several points that Historical Society staff has consistently heard during discussions. Staff wants to engage people at the site, which will likely include site infrastructure and improvements, and believes there are opportunities at the site and in school classrooms to actively engage students from kindergarten through college, Leonard said. Outreach will be key and the Historical Society has "a tremendous opportunity to work with the whole Rainy River cultural landscape and reach folks where they're already coming together," Leonard wrote.
