Charlie Vig

Charlie Vig is the former Chairman of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota. Vig served as the Vice Chairman from January 2012 until August 2012. He then served as chairman from August 2012 to January 2020.

Vig was the youngest of his family's nine children. Vig was raised in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Charlie Vig was elected Vice Chairman of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in January 2012. The tribe's treasurer and secretary, Keith B. Anderson, became the new Vice Chairman. The tribe has donated more than $350 million to organizations and causes, and is one of the largest charitable givers in Minnesota.

In 2015, the tribe launched Seeds of Native Health, a five-year, $11 million campaign that represents the single-largest coordinated philanthropic effort in American history focused on improving Native American nutrition.

In 2019, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community created Understand Native Minnesota, a three-year, $5 million strategic initiative and philanthropic campaign to improve the Native American narrative in Minnesota schools.

Another marker of Chairman Vig's time in office was his commitment to building relationships on behalf of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

Under his tenure, the tribe constructed a jointly owned water treatment facility with the City of Prior Lake; partnered with the City of Prior Lake on the multimillion-dollar expansion of County Road 83; and contributed more than $30 million in infrastructure improvements that benefit the region.

The former chairman also worked with other Sioux tribes to preserve and protect Pe’ Sla, a sacred site in the heart of the Black Hills in South Dakota.

In 2020, Chairman Vig retired from public service to spend more time with family. The Scott County board of commissioners and the Prior Lake and Shakopee city councils declared January 27 to be Chairman Charlie Vig Day in honor of his impact.