Minnesota's Indigenous communities prepare for encounters with ICE
Tribes from across the Midwest are working to ensure members in the Twin Cities have proper identification.
About 10 tribes have organized pop-up events, driving in from Wisconsin and the Dakotas to help members fill out applications for tribal IDs.
Some have lowered fees for the applications.
"A lot of families come in, they would come in as a group," said Christine Yellow Bird from the Three Affiliated Tribes in North Dakota.
Yellow Bird made the trip from the White Shield East Segment satellite office in Fargo, North Dakota, carrying binders of information and ID applications with her. Yellow Bird estimates assisting about 100 people with applications over the course of the last few weekends.
Some tribal members in Minnesota fear being stopped by federal officers as Operation Metro Surge continues. It's something Yellow Bird has heard echoed from the members she's met with.
"It's sad that we have to prove that we're native when we were here first," Yellow Bird said.
The Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center in Minneapolis hosted one of the tribal ID events. Ruth Buffalo, the center's president, says concern has rippled through the community.
"Right now it's sort of like go time and are just doing what we can to protect everyone," Buffalo said.
Buffalo says dozens and dozens of tribes are represented in the Twin Cities and a majority of Native people live in urban areas.
Tribes report previous encounters with ICE
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe says last weekend one of their members was detained and later released in Minnesota.
Just a few days ago, the Oglala Sioux Tribe banned ICE from its reservation. Earlier this month, the president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe said four tribal members were detained by federal immigration officers, though he later walked back that claim. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it can't verify claims that any of their officers arrested or "even encountered" members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.