We are the Tribal Council of the Prairie Island Indian Community, which is a sovereign nation and a federally recognized Indian tribe. Our people, the Mdewakanton Dakota Oyate, have lived in the area now known as Minnesota for centuries. Our Dakota ancestors survived here, even when our land was taken away, the leagues of non-Natives arrived, and the cities amassed around us. We have strived for centuries to make life better for the next seven generations of our Oyate.

We do not invite conflict with our neighbors. Instead, we have a proven track record of working with those around us to make life better for all. But we are compelled to speak out in response to a recent Pioneer Press report regarding land we own in West Lakeland Township.

The online clickbait headline of the story, “Will land near Woodbury spawn a casino? Residents worried, but Indians say not now,” uses the term “Indians” in such a way that promotes false racial stereotypes and misleading information.

We do not find the use of the term “Indian” in all contexts offensive; it’s part of our Tribe’s official name. But in the context of this article, and in an ongoing effort to incite doubt and fear, the use of the term was offensive, intentional, we believe, and underscores the disrespect that modern Native Americans battle as we continue to make efforts to improve life for our Oyate.

The land in West Lakeland was purchased by a Tribal government, which has a formal name. Referring to us merely as the “Indians” disregards our status as a federally recognized tribe and aims to further perpetuate false stereotypes. It reduces us to some nameless, faceless group that is sitting in a tribal casino … thinking about building more casinos; or worse.

If the land was purchased by another group, would the article’s headline ever have referred to that group in a term widely understood as derogatory? If a company comprised of Caucasian males owned the land, would the headline have read, “Will land near Woodbury spawn a casino? Residents worried, but white men say not now.” We doubt that it would.

The article continues its patronizing tone in its use of the term “sovereign nation” in quotes, as if this protected right of Tribal governments is a notion made up to evade local meddling. To the contrary, Tribal sovereignty existed before the first European contact. Native American tribes are sovereign not because it was something that the federal government gave to us; it is an inherent right. We governed ourselves for countless generations, just as we continue to today. Reducing sovereignty to the ability to evade local zoning ordinances reflects a lack of understanding and disregard for tribes.

As does impugning that anything the Tribe does with the property will harm the surrounding residents or reduce property values, the message conveyed with the closing statement that “there are some nice houses down there. I feel sorry for those.”

It’s offensive to suggest that just because the 112 acres of land in West Lakeland is owned by a tribal government that we will seek to put a casino there, and that any other explicitly stated purpose for acquiring the land, such as housing or pursuing a commercial project to further diversify our economy, is simply not believable.

Has the Prairie Island Indian Community taken a single step toward putting a casino on that land? No. Has the Tribe expressed to West Lakeland, the federal government and the Pioneer Press its intent to do something else with the land? Yes. On numerous occasions.

Those familiar with any of the 567 Indian tribes in the United States understand that tribes are as diverse as states or countries are from each other. Through perseverance and the unwillingness to perish despite efforts by federal, state and local governments to do expressly that, tribes continue to exist and evolve.

Today, tribes have diverse economic systems and off-reservation business ventures that run the gamut from farming and manufacturing to banking and education. And we aren’t going anywhere. We will continue to press forward despite modern-day challenges and the ongoing bias that misguided reporting reflects.

We will do this for the next seven generations of our Oyate, as our ancestors did for us.

The writers are members of the Tribal Council of the Prairie Island Indian Community: Shelley Buck, president; Lucy Taylor, vice president; Johnny Johnson, treasurer; Edward Buck, secretary; and Audrey Bennett, assistant secretary/treasurer.