Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe To Complete New Community Center with $5 Million from Shakopee Mdewakanton
Prior Lake, Minn. – The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) today announced a $1 million grant to the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe for its new community center. This brings the total to $2 million in grants and a $3 million loan from the SMSC for this $5.3 million facility. This grant is also part of the SMSC’s most recent round of more than $10 million in grants awarded to 18 American Indian tribes in eight states.
Built on trust land east of the tribal office, the 23,000-square-foot community center will provide space for tribal meetings, wakes, funerals, after-school programs, Dakota language immersion classes for adults and youth, cultural programming, and other activities. It will feature classrooms, a full-size regulation gym and basketball court, locker rooms that are large enough to accommodate tournaments, seating for up to 300 people, and on-site parking for up to 90 cars.
The groundbreaking was held in the summer of 2012. The project is expected to be completed in July 2013. Plans call for a drum-shaped ceremonial room with a floral pattern on the floor designed by a tribal member, as well as beadwork-patterned brickwork on the room’s exterior. The tribal logo will be in the center of the gym floor and on the exterior wall panels. A proposed future construction phase calls for an indoor pool and a kitchen.
With this grant, the SMSC has provided $11.35 million in grants and loans to the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe since 2004 for economic development efforts and a senior independent living project.
The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe is comprised primarily of descendants of the Mdewakanton, a member of the Isanti division of the Great Sioux Nation, who refer to themselves as Dakota, which means “friend” or “ally.” The Flandreau Santee Sioux Indian Reservation includes 2,500 acres located along and near the Big Sioux River in Moody County, South Dakota. The reservation’s population is about 650.
About the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is a federally recognized, sovereign Indian tribe located southwest of Minneapolis/St. Paul. With a focus on being a good neighbor, good steward of the earth, and good employer, the SMSC is committed to community partnerships, charitable donations, a healthy environment, and a strong economy. The SMSC and the SMSC Gaming Enterprise (Mystic Lake Casino Hotel and Little Six Casino) are the largest employer in Scott County. Out of a Dakota tradition to help others, the SMSC has also donated nearly $272 million since 1992, including more than $152 million to other tribes, tribal organizations, and American Indian causes.