Native American leaders respond to DOJ report on Minneapolis police

CATHY WURZER: This is Minnesota Now on MPR News. I'm Cathy Wurzer. The US Justice Department's report listing civil rights violations by the Minneapolis Police Department confirmed what many in the city's Native American community say they've experienced over many years. The impending consent decree that could put some legal teeth into policing reform may help repair relations with Twin Cities BIPOC communities.

MPR News Reporter Melissa Olson's been talking with community leaders and gauging reaction to the report. And she's here to talk about it. Hey, welcome, Melissa.

MELISSA OLSON: Hi, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: Specifically, you talked to leaders in the Native American community about the DOJ report. What are you hearing?

MELISSA OLSON: Cathy, everyone I talked to said they are not at all surprised by the DOJ's findings. They say the report really resonates with what they've been saying about the Minneapolis Police Department for many years.

CATHY WURZER: Absolutely. Of course, we should say that the third precinct off of Lake Street in Minneapolis, South Minneapolis, is the home to the Little Earth of United Tribes housing complex. That's also the same precinct where Derek Chauvin was stationed. So tell us a little bit about how Little Earth plays into the community and where you went to talk to some of these folks.

MELISSA OLSON: Yeah. It's so important to maybe talk a little bit about geography here. Little Earth is really kind of a large part of the East Phillips neighborhood. So it's situated right there on 24th Street on Cedar Avenue. And it takes up, really, about six blocks in that neighborhood. And it houses primarily Native American families.

The community around there is home to a large urban Native community. And they just have a very long history with police officers in the third precinct.

CATHY WURZER: So you read the DOJ report. What stood out to you?

MELISSA OLSON: There's so much in this report. I very much hope people will read it. I want to talk about two things that stood out to me. MPD supervisors told DOJ investigators that in the third precinct, where many quote unquote "cowboys" want to work, MPD used force 49% more often during stops involving Black people and 69% more often during stops involving Native American people than they did during stops of white people.

The DOJ also found that when police used force with people under the age of 18, it was at a rate 14 times higher for Native American youth than for white youth. And the report revealed, quote, "MPD uses force against Black and Native American youth at significantly higher rates than against white adults." So there's so much more in this report, but those numbers really stood out to me.

CATHY WURZER: Because of the fraught relationship with the MPD, I know that Little Earth and East Phillips have kind of turned to community patrols, right? So talk a bit about that.

MELISSA OLSON: Yeah. I want to share something that organizer Jolene Jones, who herself has lived at Little Earth for many years, told me earlier this week when talking about community patrols-- and specifically the community patrol at Little Earth.

JOLENE JONES: Our main focus is to make sure if something's happening, that our little ones are getting inside before it goes down. We hope they do. We do our best. We're not bulletproof either.

MELISSA OLSON: So Jolene Jones says there's definitely a place for community patrols and keeping everyone safe in their community in and around Little Earth. But she also wants to build more rapport, respectful relationships with MPD. She and everyone I spoke with are weary but hopeful that people are finally hearing them when they talk about their desire to feel safe in their homes, in their neighborhood.

She says she believes it's up to the Minneapolis Police to reach out to community at Little Earth and around Little Earth. And it's the police who need to do the work.

CATHY WURZER: All right. Thank you so much, Melissa.

MELISSA OLSON: Thanks so much, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: Melissa Olson is a reporter for MPR News.