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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 07/13/2023 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2023 7:00 P.M., EDEN PRAIRIE CENTER Office of Housing and Community Services COMMISSION MEMBERS: Greg Leeper (Chair), Shahram Missaghi, (Vice Chair), Sana Elassar, Philip Skeie, Asad Aliweyd, Samuel Griffin, John Urbanski, Susan Weaver, Zaheer Khan, Christine Kleckner, Jody Knight, Brenda Pfahnl, Kuhu Singh COMMISSION STAFF: Megan Yerks, Staff Liaison Julie Krull, Recording Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Leeper called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Commission Members Missaghi, Aliweyd, and Griffin were absent. Khan arrived at 7:23 p.m. II. INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS Former student commissioner, Hina Kazama was present along with the guest presenter, Yolanda Spry. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Urbanski moved, seconded by Skeie, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 9-0. IV. APPROVAL OF THE JUNE 8, 2023 MEETING MINUTES MOTION: Weaver moved, seconded by Elassar, to approve the minutes dated June 8, 2023. Motion carried 9-0. V. COMMUNITY PRESENTATION – YOLANDA SPRY, DISTRICT NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL LIAISON FOR Eden Prairie SCHOOLS Chair Leeper introduced Yolanda Spry, District Native American Cultural Liaison for Eden Prairie Schools. Ms. Spry said she is the liaison for Native American students at Eden Prairie Schools. There are approximately 120 Native American students in the school district. She commented this is a role that has been recently created. Urbanski asked if she will be going to the different schools this fall. Ms. Spry said that was the plan and they are working on that as she is creating what the role should be. She said there are 8 districts with no protocol and that is what she is working on. Knight asked if this was an educational thing about the culture. Ms. Spry confirmed that it is an educational role discussing the culture to the students, as there are over 500 recognized tribes and HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES July 13, 2023 Page 2 of 7 they want to honor the culture and bridge the gap between the staff, community and parents and provide extra support. Ms. Spry showed a PowerPoint presentation that she presented to the Commission. She gave a history of herself. She was born in Duluth and at the age of 14 moved to the Grand Portage Reservation, which she said was life altering. She dropped out of school at the age 14 as the closest school was 45 minutes away and the school did not even acknowledge the fact she was not there anymore. She said she ended up getting a part time job at the casino until she moved back to Duluth for better opportunities. She received her associate’s degree and then moved to the Twin Cities and received a bachelor’s degree in human services and eventually a master’s degree in business psychology. Her background is in non-profit mental health and home services. She has 4 kids, 2 have graduated and 2 are attending Prairie View. Ms. Spry showed the map of MN containing the 11 recognized Native American tribes. There are 540 recognized tribes in the United States. Each has their own culture and traditions and are very different from each other. There is state and federal recognition for the tribes. There are 61,000 Native American Minnesotans which are recognized by the state. Currently the native language is getting lost and they are trying to revive that. Locally and nationally, Native American’s have the worst health outcomes out of all ethnicities. 22 % of Dakota’s and 18% of Ojibwa’s in MN do not have high school diplomas or GEDs. 31% of MN Native Americans are below property level and 34% of Native American children are in poverty. Native American woman make up 21% of the prison population in MN; this is not unique to MN. The median income is $ 36,900 regardless of family size compared to average of $67,000. Ms. Spry illustrated some of the adversities associated with Native Americans. She stated it has to do with what has happened in history going back to the days of Columbus. There were many wars and starvation that has wiped out a vast majority of the Native American population. Many past government policies were also enacted to eliminate many of the traditions of Native Americans. There was also something known as force alcohol where Native Americans were forced to drink alcohol. When the government did give the tribes food it was often spoiled so that is why there were a lot of malnourished and starving people. Boarding schools were enacted in 1879 and those contributed to the difficulties today for Native Americans. The kids at these schools were actually laborers and there were many deaths associated with this. In 1952 the Indian Relocation Act was enacted. This brought Native Americans to urbanization which created a lot of homeless people. Also, the Forced Sterilization Act of 1960 targeted Native American woman. They would force sterilization without their consent and could have impacted approximately 25 percent of the women. In 1968, there were three men that met with Foreign Affairs to protest poverty, discrimination and police brutality. In 2016, was the birth of the water protector movement. This protects water on reservations as it is viewed as sacred by Native Americans. In 2019, a task force was established in Minnesota for missing and murdered Indigenous women. There are currently 4200 cold cases in Minnesota. The issue with the reservations is that the Tribal Government is sovereign so criminal offences can go without being charged. Legislation needs to be changed to protect the women. Ms. Spry pointed out that even today there are a lot of these issues that are going on that need to be addressed. In regards to the Red Rock’s in Minnesota, the Native Americans pay homage to these as they are sacred. Ms. Spry commented the elders said that most of them have been demolished. In regards to the Land Acknowledgement Statement, Ms. Spry had some concerns in regards to the verbiage. She did not like the way this sentence was worded and thought it was insensitive; “to HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES July 13, 2023 Page 3 of 7 honor Indigenous People who have inhabited land in Eden Prairie”. Also, the phrase, “allowing pioneers”, she would like to see it worded, “allowing colonizers”. Ms. Spry pointed out that schools do not teach Native American history past 1900 and said that needs to be changed along with the negative stereotypes. Chair Leeper asked if there were any questions and also thanked Ms. Spry for her presentation this evening. Elassar said she would reach out to her separately. Yerks pointed out to Ms. Spry that PeopleFest will be taking place and invited her to be a human book. After Ms. Spry left, Chair Leeper asked the Commissioners for their comments on the presentation. Pfahnl said this was the exact story that the Commission needed to hear; it was a consensus that everyone thought this was a very informative presentation. Chair Leeper asked Yerks about Ms. Spry’s comments about the Land Acknowledgement Statement. Elassar pointed out it has been three years since this was written and feels it should be updated. Yerks said that Crystal was a good source for writing this, but was not local to Eden Prairie. Chair Leeper said this could get added to the work plan. Urbanski commented that you have to tell both stories; the story of Native Americans and colonization. Singh brought up the issue of trafficking and what can be done with that. Elassar said just today that the FBI outreach person reached out to her to see if the Commission still wanted to do the Stop the Trafficking presentation. Elassar also commented that given the presentation tonight by Ms. Spry, she thought it would be a good idea to plan on doing this. Elassar suggested to the Commission that they view the documentary titled, “Dawnland”. This is a story of stolen Native American children and warned it is very difficult to watch. VI. STAFF REPORT – MEGAN YERKS A. COMMUNITY NEWS There was no Community News B. CITY / OHCS NEWS There was no City/OHCS News C. EPREI UPDATES There were no EPREI Updates D. HRDC NEWS New Student Commissioners New student commissioners have been chosen and will be in attendance at the September meeting. They are as follows: Kanya Karthic, Shivangi Mohan, Navya Nambiar, Kiana Poul, Sudiksha Talla (returning), Madeline Wilson, Tamia Hassan (junior), Jude Kambel (junior). Joint Meeting with the Heritage Preservation Commission HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES July 13, 2023 Page 4 of 7 There may be a joint meeting with the Heritage Preservation Commission in October. It is the hope to secure Margaret Plan as a virtual guest speaker. Her mother, Agnes Lackovic Daluge, saved hundreds of lives during WWII as an undercover teenager during the dangerous time in Munich, Germany. Agnes work the book, Rosa’s Miracle Mouse: The True Story of a WWII Undercover Teen. She lived in Eden Prairie until her death in 2007 and has been a keynote speaker at the Eden Prairie Historical Society annual meeting. New Art Installation at the City Center Yerks commented that public art display at the City Center has been updated and is now a painting by Artist Shruti Aiyar. This painting was put up during Pride month. Shruti Aiyar made the following statement: “The community makes us; we make the community. Just like the different colors of the spectrum blend into each other while retaining the originality, we individuals must create a society of inclusion and embrace the uniqueness of every individual, while being true to oneself. It is the essence of diversity and inclusion I want to convey in this Warli art. Let us build a community where being different equals being loved, being values, being respected and being ourselves. The Warli art form dates to the 10th century. It is representative of togetherness, often revolving around Mother Nature. I have used creative liberty to blend a Warli them with modern-day elements.” Shruti Aiyar has been a resident of Eden Prairie since 2020. An IT professional by occupation, Shruti’s alter ego personality is that of an artist. She believes every piece of at tells a story and she loves expressing herself through art. She specializes in canvas painting, glass painting, crocheting and amigurumi, jewelry making and charcoal art. New Eagle Express Bus The Eagle Express Bus is part of Community Education as a mobile classroom. It will be used to allow more community/location-based programming for families and will be at the Pop Up Splash Pad and PeopleFest. PeopleFest Planning Yerks commented the digital toolkit is out and ready for sharing and will email all with the post-meeting information. Details are also coming together for Action Manufacturing as they will have a plaza team to have the wheelchairs at this year’s event. Also, the last meeting to firm up the plans will be July 20th. E. UPCOMING MEETINGS OR OPPORTUNITIES There were no upcoming meetings or opportunities discussed. F. COMMISSIONER UPDATES There were no Commissioner updates. VII. OLD BUSINESS HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES July 13, 2023 Page 5 of 7 A. STOP THE TRAFFICKING 5K Chair Leeper asked if any of the attendees had feedback regarding the event. Knight said she ran in the event and was impressed with the amount of people that attended. Chair Leeper thanked everyone that volunteered. B. PARTY FOR PRIDE Chair Leeper asked for feedback from the attendees that participated in this event. Knight said the event went well and the beads were very popular. She suggested in the future not to schedule it the same day as the Hopkins Food Truck event. Yerks commented that is was also the same day as the Pride Event in Minneapolis. C. SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS (Juneteenth and Pride) Chair Leeper said that Knight was featured in the Social Media post for Pride month and thanked her for that. Weaver asked if there was any negative feedback and Yerks commented there was some. Elassar said the Pride post was the most popular post. Yerks said there was an overwhelming balance of happiness and positivity. VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. FOLLOW UP: ADVOCATING FOR FAMILIES WITH SPECIAL NEEDS Chair Leeper asked Skeie to comment on this presentation. Skeie said this is a follow up to the presentation by Suzanne, her daughter and friends at the last meeting. The document that Suzanne handed out was drafted by her, with the assistance of other families in the same situation and the Commission has added a few additional notes. The next step would be to have Rick Getschow review it for his feedback in preparation to submit it to the City Council. Skeie asked the Commissioners to have a final review of it before it is handed to Rich Getschow and requested this be done in the next week. If there is Commissioner feedback, submit it to Skeie. B. POP UP SPLASH PAD: NESBITT AND EDENVALE PARKS Chair Leeper announced the Commission is having a table at both of these events and will need volunteers from 4:30-7:30. The following is a list of who had volunteered. Pop Up Splash Pad at Nesbitt – Tabling, July 18, 4:30-7:30pm (event 5-7pm) Volunteers 1. Knight 2. Kleckner 3. Aliweyd (Kleckner recommended him as he was not in attendance) HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES July 13, 2023 Page 6 of 7 Pop Up Splash Pad at Edenvale – Tabling, July 18, 4:30-7:30pm (event 5-7pm) Volunteers 1. Knight 2. Knight has someone she is bringing Kleckner commented that parking can be an issue at the Nesbitt Park. Yerks said she will follow up with the individuals in charge. Kleckner also asked if there were t-shirts or stickers they could wear to identify themselves. Yerks said they have name tags to wear. Chair Leeper asked the Commissioners to check their availability for the Edenvale event and let Yerks know if they would be available to assist. C. EQUITY AND INCLUSION SURVEY The City is conducting a survey and has QR codes available in English, Somali, and Spanish. Yerks said the survey will be open through PeopleFest and encouraged the Commissioners to take it and encourage others they may know to take it. D. PEOPLEFEST: GUIDE Chair Leeper said the PeopleFest Guide is complete and handed it out to the Commissioners. Yerks said there have been 500 copies printed and she has additional copies with her for Commissioners to take and distribute along with the flyers. The guide has been distributed to members of CEIC (PROP, Prop Shop, EPPD Social Worker, etc.) They are also available at the City Center. Yerks said the changes to the guide include the addition of the Land Acknowledgement Statement, updated schedules, addition of the Asian Mall and restaurants within, plus some additional restaurants. The guide is available in English, Somali, and Spanish. E. PEOPLEFEST: HUMAN LIBRARY Chair Leeper said he would like to have the Commissioners each come up with two books and submit them in the Google drive. Yerks said currently there is only one book confirmed and she is working on additional ones with Kazama’s dad and Chief Sackett. Singh said she has one. Chair Leeper said to put out invitations to everyone that would be interested. Yerks said she can send out the volunteer sheet to individuals looking to participate so they know what all is expected of them. Urbanski asked if it was okay to have a Caucasian person that has experience as a book. Elassar commented the library is a way of showing diversity but could also include life experiences of individuals. Chair Leeper shared that he was once a human book. Elassar cautioned that when choosing books make sure that subject line along with experiences and backgrounds being talked about, are approved prior so that it is everyone’s knowledge what they will be talking about. Yerks said she needs the list by July 19th as she will be printing the materials after that date. She said she is also looking for four librarians for two different shifts and two volunteers for public speaking roles. They would be for the Human Library event and the reading of the Land Acknowledgement Statement. Currently, Khan has volunteered for the reader HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY MINUTES July 13, 2023 Page 7 of 7 recruiter and Singh will be out on the patio handing out flyers. Yerks said the signup genius is available online to volunteer. F. WELCOMING WEEK Chair Leeper said he had discussed this event with Yerks as to an easy way to be involved. Yerks said a workshop event or social media would be the easiest. She said she did go to the last meeting that was attended by Richfield and Edina and they already have some citywide events going on that week and will incorporate this event into those. Yerks asked the Commissioners if they would like to do a workshop or collaborate with another city. After discussion, it was decided to not do anything this year but put it on the workplan for next year. IX. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS A. EPREI: EMERGENCY RESPONSE/COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE B. EP REI: RECRUITING, HIRING AND RETENTION/DEVELOPING FUTURE LEADERS C. FACILITY AND PROGRAM ACCESSIBILITY AND CULTURE/CONNECTION TO COMMUNITY D. ONE EP X. UPCOMING MEETINGS A. AUGUST 10, 2023 XI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Skeie moved, seconded by Khan, to adjourn the Human Rights & Diversity Commission meeting. Motion carried 10-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m.