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,
Shawnee Tribe being federally recognized. Shawnee Tribe The Shawnee Tribe is a federally recognized Native American tribe in Oklahoma. Also known as the Loyal Shawnee, they are one of three federally recognized Shawnee tribes. The others are the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma and Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma. The headquarters of the Shawnee Tribe is Miami, Oklahoma. Currently, there are 2,226 enrolled tribal members, with 1,070 of them living within the state of Oklahoma. Ron Sparkman is the elected chairman, currently serving a four-year term. The Shawnee Tribe issues its own tribal vehicle tags. They operate their own housing authority