Shakopee Mdewakanton Gives $10 Million to 18 Tribes

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community announced Tuesday that it would be donating more than $10 million to 18 American Indian tribes across 18 states.

The Shakopee Mdewakanton have donated more than $270 million since 1992 and made more than $500 million in loans to other tribes for economic development projects.

The recipients of this round of donations include: 

• Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe (South Dakota) – $1 million for the tribe’s 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.
• Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (Michigan) – $92,200 in each of the next five years (FY2013-2017) for a tribal water monitoring program.  With lands in the Upper Peninsula along Lake Superior, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community wants to better understand the potential impacts of mining on local water resources.
• Lower Brule Sioux Tribe (South Dakota) – $500,000 for economic development and community improvement projects, including $250,000 for an employment training program.
• Lower Sioux Indian Community (Minnesota) – $250,000, including $205,000 for community recreation programming and $45,000 for crisis intervention assistance.
• Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma – $325,000 for a tribal agriculture program that supports a clean and healthy food source for tribal members.  Plans call for vegetable gardens, fruit trees, and livestock.
• Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Wisconsin) – $750,000, including $520,000 for the expansion of the tribe’s Apostle Islands-area marina, $150,000 for a land purchase, and $80,000 for a system that protects the tribe’s casino with backup power and surge protection.
• Red Lake Nation (Minnesota) –Two $750,000 grants (total of $1.5 million) in fiscal years 2013 and 2014 for a new community center.   This is in addition to a $27 million loan from the SMSC to help fund a new casino and hotel.
• Santee Sioux Nation (Nebraska) – $550,000 for several projects, including $250,000 for an outdoor pool, $100,000 for a youth program, $50,000 for a buffalo ranch, $50,000 for energy assistance programs, $25,000 for the fire department, and $25,000 for a daycare program.
• Spirit Lake Tribe (North Dakota) – $700,000, including $350,000 each for repairs to the Crow Hill Wellness Center and Fort Totten Wellness Center, which are located near the high water levels of Devils Lake.  Water and structural damages have forced Crow Hill to close, and the Fort Totten facility has floor, kitchen and bathroom damages. 
• Yankton Sioux Tribe (South Dakota) – $415,000 for several efforts, including $180,000 to help purchase a modular unit to hold eight kidney dialysis chairs and nine dialysis machines.