This week on Minnesota Native News we check in on a Native coalition’s work on the federal farm bill, more fallout from the Minnesota legislative session and Minneapolis police reach out to that city’s urban Native communities.
Transcript
STORY #1 - Native Farm Bill Coalition
A coalition of tribes and their allies are in Washington DC talking about food and agriculture. They want to help draft a federal farm bill that better serves tribal communities. Reporter Melissa Townsend tells us more.
It’s been since the 1970’s that tribal governments have been able to open and run their own medical clinics. That’s because they negotiated directly with the US government to receive federal funds to serve their citizens in a way they think is best.
Now - a coalition of tribes lead by Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community - are working to establish the same kind of self determination over food and agriculture programs.
Colby Duren is part of the coalition. He is Policy Director at the Indigenous Food and Agriculture initiative at the University of Arkansas School of Law. He says the coalition wants the U-S Department of Agriculture to allow tribal governments to run their own programs.
DUREN: There is a lot of ability for USDA to defer to states and so we want to make sure that in all those different places that it defers to states, it also defers to tribes as well.
And this goes way beyond food and agriculture. The USDA can lend money to state and local governments for rural development —so they can build anything from a community center to a housing complex to a broadband network. Colby Duren says the Native Farm Bill Coalition wants tribes to be able to access that money.
DUREN: That would really help tribal governments build out rural communities.
He says members of congress have been very receptive to these policy proposals. In fact, because of the work of the Native Coalition, Minnesota’s U.S. Senator Tina Smith proposed a bill that gives tribes authority to run their own SNAP programs — that’s the supplemental nutrition assistance program also known as food stamps.
DUREN: It’s really represents a very big step forward and an incredible recognition of tribal sovereignty. (:05)
The US House and Senate are expected to negotiate the final farm bill throughout the month of July. For Minnesota Native News, I’m Melissa Townsend.
STORY #2 - MIAC denied expanded role in preventing disturbances to sacred sites
Back in Minnesota, we continue to follow up on the state legislative session that ended in May. The Minnesota Indian Affairs Council was denied their request for funds to expand their work preventing accidental disturbances to sacred sites.
Dennis Olson, head of MIAC, says they wanted to make sure tribe’s can weigh in on development projects before any ground is disturbed.
OLSON: There are things that are held by local tribal communities that doesn’t necessarily make its way into the full state record. (:09)
The provision was included in the state supplemental budget bill that Governor Dayton vetoed. Dayton said that bill was legislative gamesmanship on the part of state Republicans.
STORY #3 - Mpls Police Hire Create New Liason for American Indian Community
The Minneapolis Police Department is trying a new way to build trust with the urban American Indian community. Again, here’s reporter Melissa Townsend.
The Minneapolis police department has created a new community navigator position. Art Knight is Deputy Chief of Staff for the Minneapolis Police Department. He explains that this person is not a new patrol officer, but is part of the new Procedural Justice Division.
KNIGHT: Police response to a call is from a law enforcement standpoint. We are arresting people to deal with mental health issues. And we have to be looking at how we can solve that problem. And it shouldn’t be law enforcement doing it, because law enforcement is not equipped to do that. (:16)
The best case scenario is that Native residents of Minneapolis would trust the community navigator and use that person to connect with services when needs arise. That would be a pretty big change here.
LILLEGREN: The relationship between the community and the police department has been strained historically. (:06)
Robert Lillegren is CEO if the Native American Community Development Institute - or NACDI - in Minneapolis. He says he has been in consultation with police about this new community navigator position. He’s hopeful this person can be part of a larger strategy to build trust between urban Natives and the Minneapolis police.
LILLEGREN: To the extent that the liaison can really help the police department build authentic relationships in the community so that officers know and better understand who they are interacting with and who they are policing, that I think could change people’s behaviors. (:20)
The American Indian community navigator is one of 4 navigators being hired to serve specific ethnic communities in Minneapolis. The others will focus on the immigrant Latino community, the Somali and East African Community and the African American community. For Minnesota Native News, I’m Melissa Townsend