ROCHESTER, Minn. — Dakota Middle School in Rochester received tribal consent to continue with the bison as the school mascot. The Prairie Island Tribal Council has accepted the school’s name and bison imagery as neither disrespectful nor demeaning but an honor. The Rochester School Board had sought tribal approval. A 2023 Minnesota law forbids Native American mascots and logos unless the nearest federally recognized tribe agrees. The Prairie Island Indian community of the Mdewakanton Band of Dakota Sioux is 50 miles north of Rochester on the Mississippi River near Red Wing.
Dakota School. 1,000 students in Grades 6 to 8 in northwest Rochester. Built in 2022.