Minneapolis, MN – Over 100 protesters gathered in Minneapolis to stand in solidarity with Indigenous people on Thanksgiving, November 26, for a National Day of Mourning. It is a reminder of the genocide and suffering of Native Americans that still continues today. 400 years have passed since Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock and colonized the land Native Americans had been living on for thousands of years. In the shadow of the Minneapolis skyline, several speakers touched on the many struggles Indigenous people face today and the erasure of their people.

Tonia Black Elk, an organizer from Native Lives Matter, stood in front of a wall of red dresses and told the crowd, “We've got a lot of Indigenous people here in the Twin Cities who aren't getting help and who are still dealing with a big housing crisis. Indigenous people shouldn't be homeless on their own homelands. There are also a lot of families here who have lost family members to police brutality. We shouldn't be murdered on our own homelands. We're hurting every day and missing our loved ones. Ancestral genocide is embedded into our DNA. We have the highest rates of police brutality and violence against us. But we're still here together fighting this current racist system that continues to take our women, our children, our men, and our boys.”

She went on to talk about the origins of the first Thanksgiving and how the Pilgrims celebrated the murdering of Native Americans and explained that their land has been continually pillaged and their treaties broken. Line 3, a tar sands oil pipeline, is set to be replaced in northern Minnesota on Native land and activists are already being arrested as they shut down work related to the pipeline. Henry Gipp, brother of Ryan Gipp of Standing Rock, who was murdered by police in North Dakota, traveled from Fargo to speak and read a poem he wrote that concluded by engaging the crowd in a call and response to chant “We're still here.”

Francisco Sánchez from Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee addressed the crowd and spoke about solidarity and the familiar struggles that immigrants, refugees and other oppressed groups face. “Today is a day where white people gather and actively ignore the fact that their ancestors committed genocide.”

Sánchez described the continuing oppression in terms of oil pipelines, police brutality, separation of families, locking children in cages and forced sterilization. He continued, “Their genocide has failed and has only created connection and unity because our communities have been shackled together since the beginning of colonization.”

The protesters marched through Northeast Minneapolis while carrying banners and signs that read, “No more genocide! This is Native land!” and “No more ThanksKilling!” and chanting “There's no pride in genocide!” Local residents came out of their houses and families opened their balconies with fists raised in solidarity as they marched by.

#MinneapolisMN #InJusticeSystem #PeoplesStruggles #IndigenousPeoples #PoliceBrutality #NativeLivesMatter #NationalDayOfMourning

Minneapolis, MN – In the month of November, Minnesota police officers killed three Native American men. Natives Lives Matter called for a candlelight vigil to honor their memories and demand justice here, December 3. Over three dozen people gathered in front of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Urban office on Franklin Avenue, in the historical hub of the Minneapolis Native community.

Despite the darkness, cars and buses honked constantly after seeing the participants’ signs that denounced police violence and calling for justice for the three men killed by law enforcement officers.

Travis Jordan, age 36 of the Hawaiian nation, was killed in North Minneapolis on November 9, while suffering a mental health crisis. Then on the night of November 27, 41-year-old J Scott Alan Widmark, a member of the Bois Forte Band of the Chippewa Nation, who was also suffering a crisis, was killed in the town of Virginia, Minnesota. Finally, on November 28, Vernon May, age 34, of the Red Lake Nation was killed in the town of Bemidji during a routine traffic stop.

Organizers called out the names of the cops who murdered the three: Ryan Keyes and Neal Walsh of the Minneapolis Police Department; Officer Nick Grivna in Virginia; and Bemidji Officer Bidal Druan and Beltrami County Deputy Brandon Newhouse. They also pointed out that Vernon May was “a family member to Tony May Jr., who died in police custody August 11, 2016” at the Beltrami County Jail.

Family members of the men recently killed spoke. Kelly Suzick, the sister of J Allen Widmark, told the crowd that the medical examiner has not yet released her brother’s body to the family and talked of J’s talents as an artist and musician. Travis Jordan’s girlfriend gave a wrenching account of the events that transpired on the night he was murdered.

Organizer and emcee Gabriel Eaglefeather of Native Lives matter introduced more family members who have endured their loved ones being killed by police in the past few years, including the relatives of Thurman Blevins, Marcus Golden and Phil Quinn.

Eaglefeather spoke of his own murdered brother and read a very long list of names of the Native Americans who have been murdered by law enforcement in the United States. He also pointed out that besides Jordan, Widmark and May, Minnesota cops killed two more in November, to bring the total to five.

Other organizations sent members and speakers to the vigil, including Black Lives Matter Twin Cities, Communities United Against Police Brutality, the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar Clark.

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #NativeLivesMatter

Minneapolis, MN – The week for #JusticeThruJamar kicked off with a news conference on November 12. Dozens of people gathered outside Minneapolis City Hall, in one of the first cold spells of winter, to announce a week of actions centered around the memory of Jamar Clark, who was murdered by Minneapolis police officers on November 15, 2015.

The week of actions, organized the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar Clark (TCC4J) is focused on the demands: Reopen the case surrounding the murder of Jamar and prosecute Minneapolis Police Department officers Dustin Schwarze and Mark Ringgenberg. Stop police terror in our communities – justice for all victims of police violence. Community Control of the Police – actual, community control, not the current rubber-stamp systems that exist.

Emcee Minister Toya Woodland read the statement from the TCC4J, “We demand that Mike Freeman go back and prosecute [officers] Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze for the death of Jamar Clark. But that’s not enough, we want justice for all victims of police violence. On Friday, we had two more local men die at the hands of police, which brings a grim sense of urgency to our work.”

Woodland was referring to the recent murders of Travis Jordan and James Hanchett. TCC4J and the other organizations are demanding that the officers who killed the men be prosecuted for murder.

Speakers included Tiffany Burns, sister of Jamar Clark; Trahern Crews, Black Lives Matter-MN; Gabriel Black Elk, Native Lives Matter; Katherine Hamberg, Justice for Justine Damond; Hani Ali, Black Visions Collective; Jan Nye, Communities United Against Police Brutality; and Nekima Levy Armstrong, civil rights attorney and founder of the Racial Justice Network.

On November 15, 2015, 24-year-old Jamar Clark was shot in the head within 61 seconds of the beginning of an encounter with Minneapolis Police Department officers Schwarze and Ringgenberg. In the 18 days that followed, community members occupied the Fourth Precinct police station in North Minneapolis.

James Clark said of his son, “There can never be justice for Jamar, but maybe we can win justice through Jamar.” A statement from TCC4J declares, “Our hearts go out to both sides of Jamar’s family, and all those who loved him. Thousands of people in Minneapolis and beyond have been forever changed.”

Some of the actions planned for the week include: a public speak out and banner hanging at the Hennepin County Government Center on Tuesday, Nov. 13, to get the message to County Attorney Freeman that he must re-open the case; a “61-seconds for Justice” a call-in day Nov. 14 to the county attorney (Jamar’s murderers killed him 61 seconds after they arrived on the scene); on Nov. 15, the three-year anniversary of Jamar Clark’s killing there will be an evening vigil at the site (Plymouth and James); and a community meeting on Saturday, Nov. 17 to talk about community control of the police.

#Minneapolis #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #NativeLivesMatter #JusticeThruJamar #MinneapolisCityHall #TravisJordan

The people who spoke at the vigil demanded accountability, transparency and the immediate suspension of the officers involved. Members of Native Lives Matter spoke on the killings of unarmed Native American people all over the United States. Hollie Poupart, an activist with Oshkosh-based community organization United Action Oshkosh (UAO), spoke at the end of the vigil. Her message of police accountability councils was put forward as a means of seeing justice done for Tubby and his family.

During the night of October 19, Green Bay Police Officer Erik O’Brien shot and killed Tubby during the booking process at Brown County Jail. He was arrested that evening for failing to report to court for a recent DUI charge. The details of this case aren’t well known, with an investigation taking weeks before the state will know what events led to Tubby’s death. The family and friends of Tubby demand to know what caused O'Brien to shoot him. Tubby was presumed to be unarmed.

Even though an investigation has not yet been completed, Officer O’Brien has been allowed to return to his work on ‘administrative duties.’ This decision sparked outrage and disgust in the community and from Tubby's loved ones.

In an open letter read at the November 2 vigil, the family wrote, “The community wants transparency and accountability. It is unfathomable that the officer who killed Jonathon has already returned to work. The community demands that this officer be removed from work until this investigation has been completed.” The letter also stated, “The community also demands the immediate release of any video tape involved in the shootings.”

Lindsey Spietz, a leader from UAO, attended the demonstration. “It was very apparent from the chorus of voices raised at the vigil that many of the tribal community members are fed up with the lack of transparency and police accountability,” Spietz said. “The indigenous people of this country have for too long been oppressed and murdered by the government.”

Spietz continued, “A police accountability council would help bring their frustrations and concerns to the forefront. It would put the power back in their hands, allowing them to hold this police officer responsible for the death of Jonathon Tubby.”

According to recent updates, there were no cameras located in the sally port where Tubby was killed, leaving the community to wonder why. The investigation is only beginning. The family, friends, and community activists will apply pressure on the Brown County Police Department to hold those responsible for Tubby’s death accountable. As ever, the struggle against police brutality continues. We stand tall when we say, “Justice for Jonathon Tubby!”

#GreenBayWI #PeoplesStruggles #IndigenousPeoples #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #BlackLivesMatter #UnitedActionOshkosh #JonathanTubby #NativeLivesMatter