Norman Melvan Crooks (May 28, 1917 – October 20, 1989) was an American tribal leader who served as the first

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the

Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) (Dakota: ''Bdemayaṭo Oyate'') is a federally recognized, sovereign Indian tribe of Mdewakanton Dakota people, located southwest of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, within parts of the cities of Prior ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Crooks' son, the late

Stanley Crooks Stanley R. Crooks (November 27, 1941 – August 25, 2012) served as the Chairman of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota from 1992 until his death in August 2012. Crooks became a national Native American leader during his twenty- ...

, later served as chairman of the community from 1992 until 2012. Crooks was one of the founders of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, which was established in 1969 on land near

Prior Lake Prior Lake is an exurban city southwest of Minneapolis seated next to Savage and Shakopee in Scott County in the state of Minnesota. Surrounding the shores of Lower and Upper Prior Lake, the city lies south of the Minnesota River in an area ...

. The land had originally been set aside by the

United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

in the 1880s to settle "friendly" Native Americans who had sided with the U.S. during the

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several ban ...

, a six-week-long conflict which killed more than 600 people. Norman Crooks became the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community first chairman in 1969. In 1982, he oversaw the opening of the Little Six, the community's first bingo hall. The hall, now called the

Little Six Casino Little Six Casino is owned and operated by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in Prior Lake, Minnesota, Prior Lake, Minnesota, southwest of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. The casino features slots and live dealer blackjack t ...

, was a precursor to the

Mystic Lake Casino A mystic is a person who practices mysticism, or a reference to a mystery, mystic craft, first hand-experience or the occult. Mystic may also refer to: Places United States * Mistick, an old name for parts of Malden and Medford, Massachusetts ...

, which opened in 1992.

References

1917 births 1989 deaths Chairmen of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Native American leaders {{NativeAmerican-politician-stub