
Image: Dakota Culture Dwellers of the Spirit Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.
The Mdewakanton Sioux Community is federally recognized, sovereign Indian tribe of Mdewakanton Dakota People, located Southwest of Minneapolis and Saint Paul within parts of the cities of Prior Lake and Shakopee in Scott County Minnesota. Recognized by the federal government in 1969, today it’s a force to be reckoned with.
Life on the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community was like that on many other reservations. Deficient government policies has left the tribe with dirt roads, inadequate housing, and few prospects for a better future for their childern. health care, educational opportunities, and steady employment on the reservation seemed only to be a dream. during the early 1970s, Community members depended on food subsidies, and low paying jobs were the norm. But Mdewakanton Dakota families did not give up. Through a number of tribal initiatives, members created a health care program, a childcare facility, and a home improvement program.