Statement of Significance (as of designation - August 29, 1970):
Blood Run Site is the only known mound group attributable to the Oneota culture, which is ancestral to many Midwestern Native American groups. The archeological complex consists of the remains of a village that once included more than 158 visible conical burial mounds and an effigy earthwork. Limited archeological data indicate Native American occupation of this site in the early 1700s extending back perhaps as far as 1300 AD.

Condition:
Development in the area including an oil refinery.

The State of South Dakota might have bought some of this property.

Recommendation/Change since last report:
A Special Resource Study was completed Februrary 2000 which concluded that Blood Run NHL and certain additional lands met the NPS suitability and feasibility criteria for inclusion in the national park system as a national historic site. It also concluded that the boundary of the NHL could be expanded to include additional archeological resources associated with the NHL. The study determined that the majority of the area's cultural resources are not being adequately protected or managed by local, state or federal agencies. The report presented four management strategies, ranging from taking no federal action to establishing a multi-jurisdictional state park (Iowa and South Dakota), to a multi-jurisdictional state park affiliated with the national park system, to establishment of the site as a unit of the national park system.