Little Earth of United Tribes

Working in a store that caters centrally to the construction work force in Minneapolis has really opened my eyes to immediate projects underway in the city I live in.  Riverside is a fantastic example.  Last year I put together hundreds of large orders to supply the Riverside project with ways that they can seal their immediate work spaces to conceal any contamination such as mold, bacteria, and lead.

This year I've been seeing the head contractors that work for Little Earth of United Tribes.  I asked a little bit about what was going on there recently and found out they have been doing quite a bit of building there recently.  I decided to take a drive down 55 to find their location and peek around.  They have a community center that looks like it's worth checking out.  It was closed while I was there, though.

Core Values of Little Earth

1. Reawaken and Strengthen Our Culture.
2. Live Respect and Accountability.
3. Inform and Empower.
4. Expect Education.
5. Create Hope in Countless Ways.
6. Grow Self-Determination.

The workers were telling me that their community's population is something to the tune of 98% Native Americans.  I find this both fascinating and wonderful and at the same time I'm ultimately curious about what that means.  Does the fact that there is a 2% gap of non-natives living in the community mean that they aren't segregating their community off?  I understand the importance of keeping in tune with one's culture.  And they aren't segregating the separate native communities, they are uniting tribes.

See, there's this class I'm taking this semester on Resistance Movements and their struggles against Power.  Are these United Tribes an easy target or are they a strengthened force?  It makes me think of The Indian Removal Act.  Or just about any other thing that the United States Government has put in to place to relocate or remove populations that occupy a location that the Government wants.

What are your thoughts?  Are they relocated here and in their own segregated community.  Does this strengthen their community or make them an easy target?  Myself, I feel like because they are a single large community within Minneapolis they aren't truly segregated and that they are a strengthened force.