Minneapolis — The Native community is in mourning.
More than 100 people gathered at Cedar Field for a prayer ceremony to begin the healing process.
“It’s why we’re doing this community prayer, so our people can heal from the tragedies that have occurred in the last 48 hours,” said Khaloni Freemont, a Red Lake descendant.
Freemont keeps an eye on her community while they rest. She grew up in Minneapolis and is now a patrol member for the Minneapolis American Indian Movement.
“Just to go through so much violence, it’s hard on the community in general,” she told me.
Five people were killed within 24 hours. According to Native American leaders, at least four of them were native.
“We are in mourning,” said Mike Forcia, Chairman of the American Indian Movement Twin Cities. “This is a horrific thing that has happened to our community and we’re not going to get over it for a long time.”
Forcia stated that May 1 was supposed to be a joyous day. The plan was to hold a parade to kick off American Indian Month. Forcia stated that they decided to postpone the event and instead hold a prayer ceremony.
“The purpose of it is to heal and to make sure that those families know they’re not alone and they have a community behind them,” says Forcia.
He stated that this violence is the result of decades of neglect by those in power.
“We need to come together. To move forward, the community and the police must work together, but we cannot do so unless we pause and reflect on the damage that has been done, acknowledge and accept accountability, and possibly make restitution, reparations, or something for our community,” he said.
Forcia found it healing to see so many friends and family members at the ceremony.
“I think our community has to come together and finally come up with some answers on what we’re going to do to deal with this because it’s going to take all of us, and I know that we can do it, but right now it seems like our community has been divided,” Forcia told reporters.
“This is just one step into a long road of mental recovery,” Freemont told reporters.
Freemont emphasized the importance of the community banding together to combat gun violence.
“We’re losing too many people, too many young people, and it’s just important for us to come out here and show our presence, show that we’re still here to fight for our kids,” he said. “It should always be about the safety of our children first not the safety of someone’s reputation.”
To help heal her own and others’ hearts, Freemont walked around burning sweetgrass.
“Sweet grass along with sage are two of our scared medicines that we use for prayer and healing,” Freemon told me. “We use that stuff to pray and heal our people.”
She also mentioned that they put cedar in their shoes to help them walk with a good heart.
Thursday’s prayer ceremony marked the beginning of the healing process.
Forcia stated that multiple fires will burn for four days while the community grieves. He said there would be fires outside churches and homes. He said they needed firewood to keep the fires going. Forcia stated that if you have any spare firewood, you can drop it off at the Red Lake Nation Embassy or All Nations Church.