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,
Tribe (Native American) comfortable with the word "Indian," others believe it is pejorative by nature because it erases indigenous cultures by homogenizing the ethnic "Other" in mistaking Indians from India and Native Americans. "Native American" refers to indigenous peoples of the United States and includes non-US Indian groups, such as the Iñupiat, Aleut, and Yupik peoples. Aboriginal peoples of Canada include the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. Tribe (Native American) In the United States, an Indian tribe, Native American tribe, tribal nation or similar concept is any extant or historical clan, tribe, band, nation, or other group or community of American Indians in