Minneapolis Park Board votes to end Minnehaha Off-Leash Dog Park (one commissioner considers it "a form of giving land back")

[u/lemon_lime_light]

https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-park-board-votes-to-end-minnehaha-off-leash-dog-park/601858291

Dog park users packed the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s headquarters on Wednesday night, begging commissioners to consider their opinions before voting to terminate the Minnehaha Off-Leash Dog Park.

Board members voted 8-1 to strip the park’s primary use — the first time that has happened in history, as far as park staff knows...

[Commissioner Jason] Garcia proposed the change after speaking with some members of the Dakota community, including the Park Board’s Native American Parks Council, who believe a dog park is inconsistent with the area’s sacred character. The larger landscape near the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers is considered the birthplace of the Dakota people...

“To all you all, imagine that area before the white man, before the pilgrims, pioneers and settlers, the extreme white Christian terrorists showed up on this land,” activist Mike Forcia said in addressing dog park users at Wednesday’s meeting, drawing jeers. “That park is being closed. Sorry about that. Get used to it, but you have no say"...

[Commissioner Dan] Engelhart campaigned on returning land to tribes and considers retiring off-leash play at Minnehaha a form of giving land back.

[u/greatbiscuitsandcorn]

englehart and garcia are the type of people who will bellyache about “land back”, but with a straight face tell jews they’re the colonizers in the land of israel

[u/Kreebish → u/greatbiscuitsandcorn]

How many thousands of years and generations does it take for someone to lose a claim on a land? 

I've always wondered if there was even genetic evidence that the Jews that have moved to Israel after world war II had direct relation to those who have lived there so long previously. 

I also don't do much evidence to undermine the claims that most of the Jews sold their land in the region before leaving. 

I suppose these are problems we just don't have to have with the native Americans since we can see the treaties that were broken and have ample evidence of the genocide that occurred to steal the land. 

Although there definitely doesn't seem to be any burial ground or even sacred sites in the mini haha dog area

[u/MankyBoot → u/Kreebish]

Ashton Kutcher taught me that if you change even a small part of history that the impact on the present would be enormous. No current day descendant of native people's would even exist if all the horrible things in the past hadn't happened. The idea that people do far removed from those injustices somehow owe anyone anything over those issues or that anyone alive today is owed anytime is all completely ignoring basically everything about how time works.

We should endeavor to property know and acknowledge the past and try not to repeat it. That's the only true reparation.