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The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) (Dakota: Bdemaya?o Oyate) is a 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. Mdewakanton, pronounced Mid-ah-wah-kah-ton, means "dwellers at the spirit waters."
As of the 2010 census, 658 people lived on the trust land. The tribe owns and operates Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, Little Six Casino, and a number of other enterprises. While Scott County is largely rural, it is located within the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. This helps it draw from a large population to attract numerous customers for its enterprises.
The SMSC presently owns approximately 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) of land, all of which are located within or near the original 250-acre (1.0 km2) reservation established for the Tribe in the 1880s. Tribal lands are located in Prior Lake and Shakopee, Minnesota.
Jack-O-Pa (Shák'pí/"Six"), an Ojibwa/Dakota chief, from Henry Rowe Schoolcraft's History of the Indian Tribes of North America, illustrated by Seth Eastman.
Tribal members are direct lineal descendants of Mdewakanton Dakota people who resided in villages near the banks of the lower Minnesota River. A line of leaders known as Chief Sakpe were spokesmen for their village. The first Sakpe [pronounced Shock-pay], meaning "six," was named by his people as such after his wife bore sextuplets. The second Sakpe, also known as the Eaglehead, was one of twin sons of an Ojibwe chief, who gave him to this band so that they might have a leader, and he was adopted by the first Sakpe as his son. He signed several treaties with the US during the 19th century.
The City of Shakopee later developed near this site and was named for these prominent leaders. The town of Shakopee was named after Sakpe as well.