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 recognition in the United States claim is not well-founded. <br>Numerous disenrollments by small tribes with casino income are suspicious. <br>Several Native American Communities have prohibited Disenrollment In 2016 a website called "Stop Disenrollment" was set up by Native Peoples.<br> In 2017 it is reported that an estimated 9,000 members of 72 native tribes have been disenrolled Some groups that are not federally recognized have still achieved state recognition. Various states, most in the East, have a recognition process independent of federal recognition. Some examples of state-recognized tribes are the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and the Houma Tribe of Louisiana. Native American recognition in the