For a second day, American Indian activists occupied the site of a once-sprawling homeless encampment in south Minneapolis on Saturday, insisting they will not leave until local officials address their demands for more emergency shelter beds.
The civil disobedience action began just past midnight on Friday, when dozens of demonstrators marched onto a stretch of land along Hiawatha and Franklin avenues that last fall was the temporary home of several hundred people living in tents. Amid blowing snow and a biting wind, the activists erected a teepee at the center of the former encampment, known as the "Wall of the Forgotten Natives," and read a statement demanding a stronger response to the housing crisis and a "culturally specific" overnight shelter for Natives experiencing homelessness.
"Our First Nations people continue to suffer and are sleeping outside tonight," the statement read. "The slow pace towards finding a solution is unacceptable and the community can no longer stand idle."
Early Saturday, amid falling temperatures, activists showed no signs of departing the site that has become a symbol of resistance to many in the Native community. A dozen people stood huddled around a makeshift fire near the entrance to the site, while others went to collect more provisions. Tobacco ties and sage were pinned to the chain-metal fence around the former encampment. Organizers have collected tents, tarps and other gear for overnight camping. "We need to be here for the public to wake up and know this is a crisis that needs to be addressed," said Keiji Narikawa, a Native community member and one of the organizers of the occupation. "We need permanent solutions to a permanent crisis, instead of brushing it away and fencing things off."
Word of the occupation spread quickly on social media and among the Native community. American Indian Movement co-founder Clyde Bellecourt, a citizen of the White Earth Nation, visited the site Saturday afternoon and joined the protesters in a prayer ceremony. "When you stand up, you stand up for everyone, for all the people," Bellecourt told the group. "The Great Spirit is the one that moves us to come together as people, as family."
Minneapolis police officers have circled the site in vehicles but, apart from warning protesters about the fire, have not intervened. On Saturday afternoon, police brought pizza to the protesters.
In a statement released late Saturday, Native organizers said they are negotiating with police and the Minnesota Department of Transportation and have told officials they will "establish a permanent encampment" if talks do not progress.
Hennepin County's number of unsheltered people reached 732 in July, up 40% from 523 a year earlier, according to the county's most recent point-in-time count. Officials attribute the increase to rising rents and a lack of affordable housing.