New site of Minneapolis' Camp Nenookaasi homeless encampment cleared again
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis homeless encampment known as Camp Nenookaasi has been cleared out once again.
The city shut down Camp Nenookaasi in south Minneapolis three weeks ago, but tents popped back up a few blocks away.
A WCCO crew was at the scene Tuesday morning in the area of 14th Avenue South and East 26th Street in the Phillips Community, where police, residents and protesters were on hand.
The city says the push for this closure is due in part to a flu-like illness that recently spread through the camp, sickening at least 20 people.
Minneapolis Community Safety Commissioner Toddrick Barnette says other health and safety factors were behind the move.
"We can not ignore the public safety concerns at these large encampments or the health concerns associated with the large encampments," Barnette said.
Minneapolis City Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher says residents had ample time to move out.
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"People were given an opportunity to gather items, their personal belongings, as well as take down the yurts that are on site," Anderson Kelliher said. "There was a safety concern about what was happening, what might happen, and so that was why there was not an immediate closure."
The camp, which mostly housed Indigenous residents, was originally located a few blocks north near South 13th Avenue and East 23rd Street. That encampment was cleared earlier this month.
But the same issues popped up at the new site: property damage, drug use, and gun violence. Police say a 29-year-old man was shot Monday and is expected to survive.
The original encampment had about 160 residents. The latest iteration recently tallied at about 110, but the city claims the overnight population was closer to 25.
The original camp was slated for clearing in early December but was delayed to pull in more community partners to help with the transition. A deadly shooting at the site in late December added to the city's urgency in shutting it down.
Minneapolis City Councilmember Jason Chavez watched as the encampment was cleared Tuesday.
"What we're doing is unjustified. It's inhumane, and it's not working," Chavez said.
He says he disagrees with the eviction despite the issues.
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"To evict an encampment without a plan is only going to make that situation worse. It means that now people do not have a place to sleep at night, it means that people are losing access to providers that can help them with their addiction. It means that people now have to be dispersed across our city," Chavez said.
He says he's ramping up efforts to work with the Red Lake Nation to create a permanent solution.
"We will find an empty plot of land, which I will work closely with the administration to do so, to help find a lot to move people so we can create a healing center and develop a healing center indoors," Chavez said.
City officials said earlier this month a new community center — the Mikwanedun Audisookon Art and Wellness Center — would be developed at the original camp in the Ventura Village neighborhood, in association with the Indigenous Peoples Task Force.
There are 80 to 90 shelter beds open for people who need it on any given night, according to city officials. Hennepin County works with Minneapolis to offer those resources to people.
