The Metropolitan Council's American Indian Advisory Council, composed of Indigenous culture carriers and systems changers, has put forward a set of action recommendations after an eight-month collaboration period. Highlighting their exhaustion with mere land acknowledgments, the Advisory Council is pushing for concrete actions and commitments that move beyond just words, as reported by the Met Council.
At the forefront of their recommendations is a call for strengthening the Met Council's Tribal relations policy. This includes the adoption of a policy that not only recognizes the traumatic history of genocide and displacement experienced by American Indian communities but also leads to public acknowledgment of these past actions and their ongoing impacts. Robert Lilligren, the sole American Indian member of the Met Council, underscored the importance of reconciling with past injustices to forge a path toward a better future, as detailed by the Met Council's report.
The series of recommendations suggests organizational changes such as increasing American Indian staff representation, establishing a reparative action fund, and updating real estate policies to prioritize Tribal needs. They also advocate for educating staff and regional leaders on American Indian sovereignty and treaty history, enhancing community engagement, and ensuring the council's commitment to collaborative work with Tribes and communities.
To support American Indian communities, the Advisory Council has also proposed specific policy changes in areas such as park and trail management, water policy formulation, and housing. These range from developing cultural landscape designations that respect Dakota homelands to integrating water as a relative in policy frameworks. Furthermore, as the opening of the Wakan Tipi Center approaches in the summer of 2025, they are recommending the Met Council to work on minimizing the impact of a nearby wastewater receiving station, and even to consider relocating it.
As the next steps, the suggested measures will be up for discussion in the appropriate Met Council committees. Post the adoption of Imagine 2050, tools and measures will also be developed to track policy successes, and a work plan will be created to ensure ongoing collaboration with the Advisory Council, as per the Met Council's latest news release.
