Late Shakopee Mdewakanton Chairman Crooks Named Person of the Year

Prior Lake, MN – The late Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Chairman Stanley R. Crooks was named Shakopee Patch's 2012 Person of the Year on December 27, 2012. Chairman Crooks passed away August 25, 2012, of natural causes.

Chairman Crooks garnered 68 percent of the vote in the poll run by the national website Patch.com’s Shakopee site. The late Chairman was Chairman of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community for 20 years. He was one of three people nominated by readers of the website for their contributions to Shakopee.

Called a modern day warrior at his funeral he was likened to Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. The Chairman was known for his decisiveness, quick humor, keen intellect, and analytical mind. Politically savvy, he had a humble tenacity that was unrelenting. With a vast knowledge of treaties and sovereignty, he fiercely defended tribal sovereignty and championed self-determination and self-sufficiency. On the national level, he helped set policy regarding Indian Gaming and was widely consulted on issues of importance to Indian Country.

On a personal level, Chairman Crooks was a husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, and uncle, and a friend to many. His willingness to help others, whether through advice, support, encouragement, or through more formal assistance through economic development and infrastructure loans and grants, was renowned.

His Legacy

Under his tenure, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community grew into one of the most successful Indian tribes in the country. Chairman Crooks always put his Community first and with the support of the Business Council officers with whom he served, the Community became a leader in innovative environmental projects, philanthropy, and business acumen.

Chairman Crooks’ interest in energy self-sufficiency led to the development of numerous energy initiatives including a wind turbine, biodiesel, and a partnership with Rahr Malting of Shakopee to build and operate Koda Energy, a facility burning biomass for energy production. He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for this innovative company.

During his time in office, he provided the leadership behind the investment of millions of dollars into infrastructure and facilities on Community lands. With a goal of attaining meaningful self-sufficiency Chairman Crooks committed resources to the development of water, sewer, water treatment, electricity/energy, and food independence.

Chairman Crooks was at the forefront of SMSC’s legal defense of its ability to determine and implement its enrollment policies, tribal laws, and business practices free from outside influences. As a defender of the tribe’s sovereignty, Chairman Crooks did not capitulate to federal, state, or local government attempts to erode sovereignty. As an advocate for expanding the tribe’s regulatory authority over tribal government operations, such as its ambulance service and pharmacy, under his leadership the SMSC entered into agreements with the state and local governments regarding a number of issues, including workplace safety.

Through aggressive land purchase efforts, along with the other Business Council members, he worked to increase the tribe’s land base and to have additional land taken into trust by the federal government, protecting it for future generations.

A staunch supporter of a diversified approach to economic development in Indian Country, Chairman Crooks was an inspiration to other tribal governments. He mentored leaders from other tribal nations and led the way for a loan program which has been responsible for more than $396 million in loans to other tribes for economic development projects in recent years.

Chairman Crooks was the driving force behind the development of the Minnesota Tribal Nations Plaza at the University of Minnesota which was dedicated in 2008 and the $14.5 million gift to the University for scholarships, the Plaza, and for TCF Bank Stadium.

Chairman Crooks in recent years led the Community on a path to working with others as a good neighbor establishing a partnership with Canterbury Park for joint marketing, St. Francis Regional Medical Center for sharing resources, Scott County for use of the SMSC Mobile Unit, and the Metropolitan Council for the transfer of Sewer Access Charges. Under his watch the Intergovernmental Work Group of representatives from local governments was established as a forum for resolving disputes and improving relations.

His Life

Chairman Crooks passed away August 25, 2012, at St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Shakopee, Minnesota, from natural causes surrounded by his loving family and friends. He was 70 years old.

Stanley Crooks served as Chairman of the SMSC for more than 20 successive years and was reelected for a new four-year term of office in January 2012. Under his leadership, SMSC members (the General Council) approved donations of more than $243 million to tribes and charitable organizations since 1996. Chairman Crooks often was heard to say, "We feel we have an obligation to help others. It's part of our culture as Dakota people. It is who we are."

The few weeks before his death, Chairman Crooks provided unprecedented interviews with local media outlets where he spoke publicly about Dakota history, culture, the Dakota Conflict of 1862 and its aftermath which was ever present on his mind this year, the 150-year remembrance of that tragic time in Dakota history.

A national figure in Indian Country, Chairman Crooks served as the Chairman of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association for many years and was the SMSC representative to the National Indian Gaming Association, as well as to the National Congress of American Indians. A United States Navy veteran, he served during the Cuban Missile Crisis. His father, the late Norman M. Crooks, was the first Chairman of the SMSC.

For his service to Indian Country, Chairman Crooks was bestowed with honors from across the country:

- the Wendell Chino Humanitarian Award, honoring a tribal leader who demonstrates a commitment to the advancement of tribal sovereignty, by the National Indian Gaming Association in 2005.

-the National Indian Gaming Association Leadership Award on April 7, 2010.

-the NIGA Chairman’s Leadership Award of Excellence: Going Green for Mother Earth on October 20, 2010.

- one of the Global Gaming Business magazine’s “25 People to Watch” in January 2011.

-Tribal Leader of the Year by the Native American Finance Officers Association on March 23, 2011.

-Most recently, in July 2012, he was honored as the 2012 Eagle Visionary Award Winner by Indian Gaming magazine and was the first of six honorees into their newly established Indian Gaming Hall of Fame.

About the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, a federally recognized Indian Tribe in Minnesota, is the owner and operator of Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, Little Six Casino, Mazopiya, The Meadows at Mystic Lake, and other enterprises on a reservation south of the Twin Cities. The SMSC utilizes its financial resources from gaming and non-gaming enterprises to pay for the internal infrastructure of the Tribe, including but not limited to roads, water and sewer systems, emergency services, and essential services to its members in education, health, and well-being.

A tribal charitable giving program which comes from a cultural and social tradition to assist those in need has given away more than $258.2 million to Indian Tribes, charitable organizations, and schools since 1996. Through the Mdewakanton LIFE Program, the SMSC has donated 775 Automated External Defibrillators to tribes, schools, police and fire departments, and other organizations with 21 lives saved due to their use.

The SMSC has also made more than $523 million in loans mostly to other tribes for economic and infrastructure development projects. Since 1996 the SMSC paid more than $7.6 million for shared local road construction and an additional $16.7 million for road projects on the reservation. The SMSC has also paid $14.4 million to local governments for services and another $6.4 million for other projects.