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

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, 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 gro ...

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 U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. Crooks' son, the late Stanley Crooks, 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. The land had originally been set aside by the

United States government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

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, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several eastern bands of Dakota people, Da ...

, 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, 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: Arts, entertainment Books and comics * Ms. Mystic, comic book superheroine * ''Mystic'' (c ...

, which opened in 1992.

References

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