North Dakota from the Great Lakes area. The word "Dakota" is a Sioux (Lakota/Dakota) word meaning "allies" or "friends". The primary historic tribal nations in or around North Dakota, are the Lakota and the Dakota ("The Great Sioux Nation" or "Oceti Sakowin," meaning the seven council fires), the Blackfoot, the Cheyenne, the Chippewa (known as Ojibwe in Canada), and the Mandan. The federally recognized tribes have Indian reservations in the state. Social gatherings are known as "powwows" (or wacipis in Lakota/Dakota) continue to be an important part of Native American culture and are held regularly throughout the state. Throughout Native American history,
Native American hip hop to ever use the epithet "MC", is Cherokee and Ernie Paniccioli, a famous photographer of hip-hop culture who grew up in Brooklyn, is Cree. Funkdoobiest, Solé, and Litefoot (winner of the Native American Music Award), are also well-known Native American hip-hop artists. Wu-Tang affiliate King Just is also of Native American and the Ol' Dirty Bastard also claimed to be of Native American descent. Flavor Unit member Apache is also Native American. In the past, the majority of Native American hip hop was to be found in the underground scene, rarely gaining exposure beyond regional hits. However, artists such as