MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge ruled Wednesday to move forward with the eviction of a south Minneapolis encampment that some city officials consider a public safety concern.
The judge denied the motion, which was filed on Tuesday by two people who live at the encampment at the corner of 13th Ave. S. and E. 23rd St. in the Phillips neighborhood. The lawsuit accused Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of "seeking to evict, displace, and scatter them into the harsh Minnesota winter." The plaintiffs claimed those who lived at the encampment would have their tents, yurts, teepees and other shelters destroyed, and their belongings trashed without appropriate plans to house those who are evicted, adding that the camp's ceremonial fire and other sacred sites will be desecrated.
"Given the long and brutal history of encampment sweeps in Minneapolis and the deadly frigid winter ahead, Defendant Frey’s planned eviction is dangerous," the lawsuit states. "Plaintiffs not only face irreparable harms, but reasonably fear for their lives."
The encampment, which is called Camp Nenookaasi, was initially scheduled to be cleared on Dec. 14, 2023, but, after eight city council members wrote letters to Mayor Frey, the eviction was delayed. The city postponed the eviction once more before announcing a Jan. 4, 2024 eviction date.
The city, Hennepin County and various nonprofits have been working for months to find more permanent housing for those in the camp. The city says they've helped connect 111 people with alternative housing or shelter options.
City officials have maintained that there are "ongoing public safety and health concerns," most recently referencing a deadly shooting in December. The Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors (MUID) as well as the Indian Health Board of Minneapolis, Inc., also wrote letters earlier this year, both of which asked the city to close the Nenookaasi encampment.
"All our community members deserve safe and dignified housing. An encampment – especially in winter – does not provide that," the city said in a statement. "Moreover, the increasingly dangerous conditions at the encampment mandate its closure. Within the past four months, the encampment has been the site of a fatal shooting, a drug overdose death, sexual assault, vandalism, open drug use, stray gunshots, complaints of human waste, and more than one hundred 9-1-1 calls."
The camp is located next door to the Indigenous People's Task Force, which provides a variety of health and educational services to Native American families, including one of the longest-running Indigenous youth theaters.
The nonprofit plans to build an art and wellness center on the very land currently occupied by the camp. The sale is scheduled to be finalized in February.
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