Prior Lake, Minnesota - The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community announces payment of nearly half of the $1 million matching pledge to the National Congress of American Indians. The pledge announced in 2006 will fund the Embassy of Tribal Nations. A gift of $424,066 from the SMSC will match dollar for dollar other donations raised by the NCAI.

A portion of the funds which the SMSC will match were given by the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, located 23 miles northeast of Phoenix, Arizona, who pledged $1 million over five years. The 40 square mile Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation is home to 600 of the tribe's approximate 900 members. The Nation has built a successful and growing tribal economy focused on destination tourism and entertainment, featuring the Fort McDowell Casino and Fort McDowell Radisson.

The Embassy of Tribal Nations will be a permanent home for the NCAI and other tribal organizations and will enhance NCAI's identity as a permanent presence in Washington, D.C. Visiting tribal leaders will have an office in the Embassy from which to conduct business in the neighborhood known as Embassy Row in the nation's capitol.

The National Congress of American Indians is the oldest and largest tribal government organization in the United States. NCAI serves as a forum for consensus-based policy development among its membership of over 250 tribal governments from every region of the country. NCAI's mission is to inform the public and the federal government on tribal self-government, treaty rights, and a broad range of federal policy issues affecting tribal governments.

At the request of the NCAI, the remaining $575,933 of the SMSC pledge has been extended for one year to give them more time to raise the funds needed to meet the match.

In 2005 the SMSC made a donation to the NCAI for $25,000 for the Embassy of Tribal Nations, a conference, and for general operating support. The SMSC grant also supported the 2005 Mid- Year Conference June 12-15 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 2004 the National Congress of American Indians received $100,000 from the SMSC for the National Center of American Indian Research and Policy Analysis, a think tank focused solely on issues facing tribal communities. The SMSC also donated $10,000 for a special event.

For more information on the Embassy of Tribal Nations Capital Campaign, visit www.ncai.org or call 202-466-7767.

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