Welcome
Sioux Manufacturing Corporation (SMC) is a small business wholly owned and managed by the Dakotah people of the Spirit Lake Nation, a federally recognized Native American Indian tribe. Located in the community of Fort Totten in Benson County of northeast North Dakota, the Company was originally incorporated in 1973 under the name, Devils Lake Sioux Manufacturing Corporation (DLSMC) at a time when the desire for self-determination was at the forefront among leaders in the Native American community and at a time when the population on the reservation was growing, job opportunities were scarce and the economic condition and quality of life for many families in the community were dependent on Government funded social programs.
The first products manufactured at the Fort Totten plant were camouflage screen systems. The first units were delivered to the Army in the spring of 1974 less than three months after the Company activated the assembly line. In the years since many different types of complex, high quality products have been manufactured and delivered to the Government earning the Company numerous awards and a reputation as one of the most successful Native American owned and operated manufacturing businesses in the United States to grow out of the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Program.
SMC is proud of its status as member of the Defense Industrial Base and its owners and staff are keenly aware of the importance of the role the Company plays as key contributor in an industrial supply chain that provides critical Military supplies to the warfighters that serve and defend the Nation. As well, SMC’s employees recognize the importance of their personal obligations as members of the essential infrastructure workforce as designated Departments of Defense and proud of their contributions toward the enhancement of the quality of life for their families and community at large.

About Our Logo
When the Tribe assumed full ownership of the Company in 1989, Devils Lake was dropped from the Corporation’s name but the original logo remained in use after the transition. The distinctive logo was inspired by the desire for self-determination and vision of elders of the Spirit Lake Tribe and realized in the artwork of a young Dakotah man. Over the past five decades, the logo has been applied to numerous products including camouflage nets, helmets, ballistic panels, ablative liners and numerous other composite parts and structures that were ultimately incorporated into Military equipment and deployed with U.S. and friendly foreign land forces in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East and in Naval vessels at sea. Consistent with the quality culture cultivated over the years, SMC takes pride in the fact that logo doesn’t go on until it has been demonstrated through rigid inspection and testing, that the product meets the exacting form, fit and functional requirements specified by the customer.
SMC’s logo embodies three elements that have strong traditional meanings and cultural significance for indigenous and non-native peoples alike.
Lighting
Horse
Circle
Indian Incentive Program (IIP)
If your requirements are for quality composite armor or ablative liners or any of the services SMC can provide, we invite to read our story, learn about who we are, what we’re about, what we do and how we can help you meet your product needs and small business subcontracting goals.