MNHS Statement on Recent Confusion Regarding Historic Fort Snelling
For immediate release
Dated: January 28, 2026
Contacts:
Allison Ortiz, 651-259-3051, allison.ortiz@mnhs.org or Nick Jungheim, 651-259-3060, nick.jungheim@mnhs.org
Location: Historic Fort Snelling
The Minnesota Historical Society operates Historic Fort Snelling, a historic educational site. The site has no role in immigration enforcement operations.
Historic Fort Snelling is part of the 100,000-acre territory of Fort Snelling (outlined in red and white below). The territory is situated in Hennepin County and includes Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (3,400 acres), Fort Snelling State Park (approx. 2,930 acres), Fort Snelling National Cemetery (436 acres), and Historic Fort Snelling (22 acres).
The area is a patchwork of varied authorities and entities, including the federal government, the State of Minnesota, Hennepin County, the National Park Service, Minnesota Airports Commission, Minnesota Historical Society, and Northern Star Scouting.
Fort Snelling is the site of converging histories, and the complex history of the area dates back more than 10,000 years.
For many years, MNHS has worked closely with community partners to design an interpretive plan for the site that brings more depth to the cultural understanding and features more histories of the many people who have been part of Fort Snellings' history, including Dakota, Ojibwe and other Native Americans, African Americans, Japanese Americans, women, soldiers, veterans, and more. Inaccurate media representations could do damage to the foundation we have established with these communities.
Additional resources:
Timeline of Fort Snelling
US-Dakota War of 1862
Fort Snelling in the Civil and US-Dakota War 1861-1866
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