Spirit Lake Tribe Spirit Lake Tribe The Spirit Lake Tribe (in Santee Dakota: "Mni Wakan Oyate", formerly known as Devils Lake Sioux) is a federally recognized tribe based on a reservation located in east-central North Dakota on the southern shores of Devils Lake. It is made up of people of the Pabakse ("Iháŋkthuŋwaŋna"), Sisseton ("Sisíthuŋwaŋ") and Wahpeton ("Waȟpéthuŋwaŋ") bands of the Dakota tribe. Established in 1867 in a treaty between Sisseton-Wahpeton Bands and the United States government, the reservation, at , consists of of land area, primarily in Benson and Eddy counties. Smaller areas extend into Ramsey, Wells and Nelson counties. According to
Native American mascot laws and regulations fighting spirit and being aggressive, brave, stoic, dedicated, and proud; while opponents see these traits as being based upon stereotypes of Native Americans as savages. Supporters also state that the issue is not important, being only about sports, and that the opposition is nothing more than "political correctness", which change advocates argue ignores the extensive evidence of harmful effects of stereotypes and bias. A Native American legislator has proposed a bill that would ban the use of a sports team name or logo at a publicly funded stadium if any Arizona tribe found it to be disparaging. While primarily aimed