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AIM Patrol and Indigenous Protectors Movement

Home > MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds > AIM Patrol and Indigenous Protectors Movement

Learn about AIM and The Indigenous Protectors and other contributors to Minnesota’s long history of community-led protection efforts.

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Editor: Britt Aamodt

Producer: Eemanna Rivers

Editorial support: Emily Krumberger

Mixing & mastering: Chris Harwood

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Transcript

Welcome to MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds.

Eemanna Rivers: If you followed news related to the 2026 “Operation metro surge” in Minnesota, you likely heard the sounds of whistles in interactions with federal Immigration agents.

SFX: feet on pavement, Whistle’s sound in the background

Eemanna Rivers: These whistles are used by community networks to communicate with neighbors. This is not, however, the first time in Minnesotan history that communities have organized in networks to protect targets of state violence.

SFX: industrial sound / unsettling music

Eemanna Rivers: The American Indian Movement also known as AIM was founded in 1968.
One of its first initiatives included a community patrol system in response to police brutality against Twin Cities Native communities. The patrol was a collaboration, partnering with the Black Panther Party, Soul Patrol and the Brown Berets. Patrollers acted as a first line of defense for situations of crisis, effectively reducing interactions between native communities and the Minneapolis police. The AIM sanctioned patrols disbanded in the 1990s but the descendants of the patrols continued.

SFX: feet on sidewalk, [police] radio chatter

Eemanna Rivers: In 2020 during the uprisings following George Floyd's murder, descendants of AIM like the indigenous protectors movement brought back patrols. And in operation metro surge, these patrols worked alongside others to keep the people of Minnesota safe.

SFX: Sounds of protest calls, "The people untied will never be defeated"

MN90 is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, made possible by funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Online at MN90.org.