The Power of Community
Many people from across the nation are reaching out to inquire about our well being. ICE agents are continuing to unlawfully arrest, detain, abduct, and terrorize our immigrant neighbors and tribal citizens. But we are mobilized and we are peacefully protecting our communities. NACDI’s immediate neighborhood is the most diverse one in the state of Minnesota. Our neighbors come from all parts of the world. While we anticipated disruption when we learned of ICE’s deployment to our city, we did not expect ICE’s presence to reach this unsettling scale of cruelty and intimidation. We also did not anticipate ICE targeting Native people here, the first people of this land. The federal occupation continues and there is no clear understanding of when it will end. ICE continues its brutal assault on our city and people.
Safety, mobilization, community voices, resistance, and resilience remain our mission. This occupation is deeply personal as well as national. As a resident of the Whittier neighborhood, I reside just blocks away from the site of Alex Pretti’s murder by ICE agents. On that fateful day, helicopters circled above my apartment, and I could detect the acrid and pungent smell of tear gas. This is an issue we cannot ignore, and disruption will not halt our work at NACDI because it is all interconnected.
As a response to these turmoils, NACDI and All My Relations Arts’ gallery immediately opened our doors for the community. We turned our building into a safe gathering place for community members to find supplies, services, and support. We are closely collaborating with Pow Wow Grounds Coffeehouse and the Indigenous Protectors Movement as NACDI’s building is also serving as a headquarters and hub for the Protector Movement. Indigenous organizers have been guarding our streets and working with the community to ensure they understand their rights if confronted by ICE.
Native Americans have borne the brunt of federal aggression and occupation for hundreds of years. We know how to mobilize and care for our people during times of violence and crisis. Many of the founding milestones of the modern movement for Indigenous rights happened right here in Minneapolis, like the start of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in 1968. AIM was founded to protect Native people and that legacy continues today. We are a strong, diverse, robust group of citizens and organizers. We are trained in de-escalation. Many community members have taken or are taking constitutional observation training so that we can be the most helpful to people when ICE attacks happen and best prepared when ICE violations can finally face justice and accountability. We are helping support our frontline observers and working to provide whatever we can to protect and care for all of our relatives.
Thank you to individuals and organizations who have checked in with us, our staff and members of our community. Thank you to all of our volunteers, and to those who have generously donated and supported this community response. We are inspired by our community activism and collective resistance. There is still a lot of hope.
Stay safe, stay resilient and stay vigilant as we rest, rebuild, and resist.
Robert Lilligren
Resource links for community support and mutual aid:
https://www.standwithminnesota.com/
Support Native-led organizations that are supporting the Native Community:
Support NACDI’s work: https://nacdi.org/donate/