Offering classes, a deli, catering, a coffee/juice/smoothie bar and to-go meals, Mazopiya, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community’s natural food market in Prior Lake, isn’t your average grocery store.

In the Dakota language, mazopiya means “a store, a place where things are put away and kept.” Its straightforward name is consistent with the store’s natural, fresh-from-the-earth foods that contain no pesticides, preservatives or artificial ingredients.

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is committed to food that’s both good for the body and for Unci Maka or Grandmother Earth. That also means putting a focus on Native American products available to local communities.

Native American Products and Vendors

Mazopiya partners with local businesses to bring real, budget-conscious food to your table. You’ll find whole food choices and products, so you get what’s fresh, in-season, minimally packaged, reasonably priced and produced by businesses with ethical practices, many from the local community.

Whenever possible, Mazopiya features the tribal community’s organic farm, Wozupi Tribal Gardens. Wozupi produces fruit, vegetables and herbs. Find Wozupi throughout the store—in the produce section and salad bar, at the deli, in the 100 percent organic, non-GMO juices and smoothies at the reFresh Bar, and in the refrigerated section for fly-off-the-shelf organic eggs (medium and large brown).

Red Lake Nation Fishery delivers premium freshwater fish from the lakes of northern Minnesota. Thunder Island Coffee Roasters provides USDA-certified organic coffee from the Shinnecock Indian Reservation. Beaded pieces of art honoring the Native American spiritual connection with nature come from the SweetGrass Trading Company, a northern Minnesota studio.

Mazopiya’s vendors help the store supply local, natural and organic Native American foods and products. Sip on Native American-produced organic coffee. Pick up items for smudging (including abalone shells). Explore traditional indigenous foods, including smoked white fish and wild rice. It’s all at Mazopiya where locally produced and sourced food and products meet healthy, natural living.

Mazopiya is located at 2571 Credit Union Dr. (across from Mystic Lake Casino Hotel), Prior Lake. See ad page on back page.