About the Mdewakanton Dakota
About Us
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community is a federally recognized Indian tribe formally organized under federal reservation status in 1969. Tribal members are direct lineal descendants of Mdewakanton Dakota people who resided in villages near the banks of the lower Minnesota River. Chief Sakpe, [Shock-pay], which means “number six” in the Dakota language, spoke for a village that was located near what is today the town of Shakopee, which was named after him. The SMSC presently owns more than 3,361 acres of land, all of which are located within or near the original 250-acre reservation established for the Tribe in the 1880s. Of that amount only 1,606.62 acres are held in trust by the federal government, protecting it forever from loss, theft, or swindle. Tribal lands are located in Prior Lake and Shakopee, Minnesota, which are in Scott County.
As a sovereign government, the Community provides a multitude of services to its members, including health and dental care, social services, a full range of educational offerings, land administration, and public works services. The SMSC utilizes its financial resources from gaming and non-gaming enterprises to pay for the infrastructure of the Tribe. The SMSC builds and maintains roads; constructs and maintains water, wastewater, and sewer services; offers educational programs for youth; plows snowy streets; maintains environmental safeguards; monitors wildlife and wetland conditions; and evaluates alternative energy sources. The SMSC opened a fire department, Mdewakanton Emergency Services, in 2002, which each month responds to an average of 160 calls and transports 50 patients. The department is ranked 12th in the state for call volume.
The SMSC has established intergovernmental agreements with the City of Prior Lake and Scott County for a number of projects. The SMSC also voluntarily pays fees for services to local governments for police protection and other services.
The Community financially supports a number of charitable causes both locally and nationally; from 1997 through 2010 the SMSC donated more than $180.8 million to organizations, schools, and Indian Tribes. The SMSC has also made more than $390 million in economic development loans to Indian Tribes since 1996.
Millions of dollars are pumped into the area’s economy each year as a result of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community’s successful business enterprises. The SMSC provides much needed employment opportunities for Indian people and thousands of non-Indian people from the surrounding area.
As the largest employer in the county, the SMSC employs more than 4,117 and is a powerful economic force. The SMSC payroll annually is over $143.7 million. Federal taxes paid by employees of the SMSC are more than $14.2 million; state taxes are more than $6.1 million; FICA taxes are more than $10.8 million. Total payments to all vendors was $232.5 million in FY 2009, with payments totaling $15.2 million paid to Scott County vendors.
