Highs in the 40s, lows in the 30s, with light snow falling. A common October scene in Minneapolis, Minnesota. To Minneapolitans like myself, it’s beautiful fall weather. For several hundred people living in what is thought to be the largest ever homeless encampment in Minnesota, though, these first signs of winter are a dangerous omen.

Along Hiawatha Avenue, the Minneapolis stretch of State Highway 55, tents holding around 200 mostly Native American people fill the narrow space between the highway and the highway sound wall. This wall lends itself to the local name of this encampment: “the Wall of Forgotten Natives”.

The Wall of Forgotten Natives, along State Highway 55

Hundreds of Tents and Teepees line the busy street

This tent city is hard to miss; it can be seen from the highway and surrounding roads, from public transport, and from the busy dog park across the intersection. Despite this, I’ve talked to many other locals who don’t know about this encampment. Somehow, there are hundreds of homeless Natives in the largest homeless encampment in Minnesota who are seemingly invisible.

The camp began to expand in early summer 2018. A handful of homeless people lived here previously, but the camp expanded rapidly for a few reasons. Homeless people chose the spot due to the high visibility and partial protection of the sound wall; many Natives found safety in numbers as their community strengthened. Most reside in this camp because of a widespread Native housing crisis and opioid addiction.

The location of this tent city is very purposeful; it is adjacent to a historically Native neighborhood. Just over the dividing wall is the Minneapolis American Indian Center, an Anishinaabe rehab center, All Nations Church, and the Little Earth housing projects.

With all-time high rent prices in Minneapolis, Little Earth is the only rent controlled housing in the area, giving preference to Native American people. However, Little Earth is full. It is plagued with opioid addiction as well as violence. It is one of few Native spaces in Minneapolis, but it is not enough.

Minneapolis officials have long been aware of the Hiawatha encampment, but the response has been slow. Luckily, rather than raze the encampment, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has been working to provide for the community until permanent housing can be established. Medical facilities, shower and toilet facilities, lighting, police patrol, and more have been installed at the site by the city.

The Minneapolis City Council also passed an emergency measure to expedite the set-up of a relocation site as soon as possible. Frustratingly, this emergency measure simply speeds up the City Council decision-making process. Although declared an emergency, the measure will not officially warrant aid from FEMA. But this is an emergency. 4 people have died at this camp; with fresh snow weighing down and soaking through tents, people will continue to die if they are not housed.

The most promising solution comes with the support of the Red Lake Nation, a Chippewa band from Northern Minnesota. The Nation owns a plot of land nearby the camp, and they offered it to the city to be developed into temporary winter housing for the camp inhabitants. The expedited housing is not expected to be completed until December at the earliest. The promise of housing is exciting, but there are hundreds of Native people struggling to keep their tents dry in the snow, and it will only get colder.

As winter approaches, what can we do as spectators? For those in the area, donations of winter clothes, towels, tarps, firewood, and non-perishable foods can be brought to numerous locations—this website lists what materials can be brought to which location and is updated daily to weekly with immediate needs. Local addiction support group Natives Against Heroin (NAH), working at the site to clean up needles and provide care for addicts, is spearheading the collection and distribution of donations. The website above also contains volunteer information and links to donate money to NAH and other Native American support agencies in the area.

If you aren’t in the area: make these invisible people visible. Spread the word about this camp so that the Native community is not, quite literally, left in the cold. This neglected Native community needs aid for immediate survival. Call the Minneapolis City Council (x) and call the Minnesota Governor’s office (x). Urge them to declare a statewide emergency to involve FEMA. Remind city officials that people will continue to die, and weather will exacerbate conditions. Use social media to spread articles with information on these forgotten Natives and how to help them. Make this encampment like Standing Rock, a national campaign to help a systematically impoverished people trying to stay alive.

The Native American population of Minneapolis is in desperate need of aid. Giving aid to the Wall of Forgotten Natives is a small but crucial step towards a bigger goal.

Donation info and Camp updates: https://www.franklinhiawathacamp.org/

Featured Image Source: http://www.startribune.com/fourth-death-linked-to-minneapolis-homeless-camp/499463831/