History
For many hundreds of years we have inhabited this area of Minnesota. The Prairie Island people are part of a larger group called the Dwellers of the Spirit Lake, in our language the Mde wakan ed otunwahe. Over the years this name has been shortened to Mdewakantonwan or Mdewakanton (M'DAY-wah-kahn-tahn).
The Mdewakanton are one of the seven sub-tribes who make up the alliance called Oceti Sakowin - the Seven Council Fires. Most of the world knows our alliance as the Sioux, which comes from an Ojibwe word nadowessi - "Little snakes." The French changed it to Nadowesioiux or simply Sioux. We call ourselves Dakota, Lakota, or Nakota, a word that means "allies" or "friends" in all three dialects.
The Dakota/Lakota/Nakota have reservations in the states of Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana; and in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
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A historical perspective on the Prairie Island Indian Community, entitled "Transformation of an Island" is available upon request.
To order a copy, call or email :
Prairie Island Indian Community
651-385-4174
All Rights Reserved.
Prairie Island Indian Community • 5636 Sturgeon Lake Road • Welch, Minnesota • 55089 • 1-800-554-5473