Minnesota Housing News

Minneapolis City Council committee hears update on now-cleared Nenookaasi encampment

A person holds a sign while two people address a council
Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Community Safety Commissioner Toddrick Barnette present an update about Camp Nenookaasi to the Minneapolis City Council during a meeting on Wednesday.
Ben Hovland | MPR News

Updated 7:19 p.m.

A south Minneapolis city lot that had sheltered homeless people for much of January was empty Wednesday morning, after the city evicted its residents Tuesday for trespassing.

Some of Camp Nenookaasi’s residents moved to another city-owned lot on the 2200 block of 16th Avenue South, but encampment organizer Nicole Mason said she lost track of many of the residents after the previous site was cleared.

“I still am looking for some of the relatives that haven’t made it here. We’ve been all night and in the morning, this afternoon we did some rounds. I went to the library. I don’t know if people went to families or went to somewhere,” Mason said.

Two people hold up signs
Minneapolis residents Donna Neste (left) and John Richard hold up signs during a Minneapolis City Council meeting on Wednesday.
Ben Hovland | MPR News

City spokesperson Sarah McKenzie said the city will post notices to vacate the new location today and “close this new site very soon due to the ongoing public health and safety issues posed by encampments, especially considering the proximity to residences and the significant fire hazard posed by campfires and propane tanks.”

The locked and fenced lot already had “no trespassing” signs posted, McKenzie said.

A person wearing a blue mask holds a black sign
Camp Nenookaasi volunteer organizer Christin Crabtree (center) listens to an update about Camp Nenookaasi during a Minneapolis City Council meeting on Wednesday.
Ben Hovland | MPR News

Other former camp residents and their supporters attended a city council public health and safety committee meeting Wednesday where city officials provided more details on the closure and efforts to get residents into shelters.

In an email, McKenzie said the city offered free transportation to shelter locations or the Mary F. Frey Minneapolis Opportunity Center, but none of the camp residents used it. Homeless outreach workers were also on hand and provided water, food, Narcan and socks. Two residents received medical services, including one who had overdosed, McKenzie said.

Two seated officals speak to two standing people
Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher (left) and Community Safety Commissioner Toddrick Barnette answer council member’s questions about Camp Nenookaasi during a meeting on Wednesday.
Ben Hovland | MPR News

Camp Nenookaasi sprung up at East 26th Street and 14th Avenue South after the city closed its original iteration on Jan. 4. Both times, city officials cited public safety concerns. This time, they also pointed to a recent stomach virus outbreak and a non-fatal shooting early Monday morning.

Though the city notified residents they were trespassing and that a closure was imminent when they first resettled on the lot and in the weeks after, camp organizers said the city didn’t give them adequate warning.

tents pitched behind cyclone fence
People evicted from a homeless encampment at 26th St. E and 14th Ave S. on Jan. 30, 2024 moved the next day to another city-owned lot nearby on 16th Ave S.
Matt Sepic | MPR News

Minneapolis police showed up Tuesday morning and began telling residents they had 90 minutes to pack up and leave. It took well into the evening for the camp to clear out.

It had housed predominantly Native people and was set up to be a safe and culturally responsive place for people, particularly with substance use disorders who were not willing to live in traditional shelter settings, where drug use is often prohibited.

Camp organizers supplied overdose reversal drugs and worked with social service organizations and the city to find treatment and housing for about 130 residents over the course of five months.

On Wednesday, Minneapolis Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher estimated there were 25 people who were still living in the relocated camp. Organizer Christin Crabtree estimated about 100 were living there at the time of the closure.

A seated Native woman holds a sign
Camp Nenookaasi organizer Nicole Mason listens to a report from Minneapolis Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Community Safety Commissioner Toddrick Barnette during a City Council meeting on Wednesday.
Ben Hovland | MPR News

MPR News reporters Jon Collins and Matt Sepic contributed to this report.