ICE Brutally Arresting Native Americans in Minneapolis

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Rachel Dionne-Thunder speaks during Friday's press conference. Screenshot Censored News.

ICE Brutally Arresting Native Americans in Minneapolis

"The real power is with the people, and with our connection to each other, and to the earth -- and that's what they are scared of." Rachel Dionne-Thunder.

By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, Jan. 9, 2026

Updated article: Native women targeted by ICE

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/01/chaos-in-minneapolis-and-st-paul-as-ice.html

MINNEAPOLIS -- In a horrifying arrest, ICE punched Jose 'Beto' Roberto Ramirez, Red Lake Chippewa, and dragged him from his vehicle. As Ramirez was complying,  ICE hit him, as his aunt was screaming for help. 

Shawntia Sosa-Clara told her nephew to let the agents scan his face before an agent hit Ramirez. "Why did you hit him?" The video shows the ICE agent repeatedly punching Ramirez as Sosa-Clara screams.

ICE Murdered Legal Observer in Minneapolis -- Now Detaining Four Oglala Lakota in Migrant Sweeps

Renee Nicole Good, 37, the mother of three, was shot and killed by ICE in Minneapolis on Wednesday. The family recently moved to Minneapolis from Colorado.

ICE Murdered Legal Observer in Minneapolis -- Now Detaining Four Oglala Lakota in Migrant Sweeps

By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, Jan. 8, 2026

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota -- Four Oglala Lakota are being detained by ICE in the migrant sweeps in Minnesota. This comes after ICE murdered legal observer Renee Nicole Good, 37, the mother of three and poet, who is originally from Colorado Springs, Colorado, in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

Today, the U.S. Border Patrol shot a man and woman in Portland, Oregon, in the migrant sweeps in a targeted vehicle stop.

Oglala Lakota Illegally Detained by ICE in Minnesota

Oglala President Frank Star Comes Out said, "I have been made aware that ICE (Department of Homeland Security) has detained four of our tribal members in Minneapolis," Star Comes Out said late today.

FBI Destroyed Evidence -- Sophia's Arm Blown Apart at Backwater Bridge -- Court Document

Sophia Wilansky after being struck by police projectile
Graphic image of shattered arm here.

(Above and below) Water Protectors at Backwater Bridge

FBI Destroyed Evidence after Sophia Wilansky's Arm was Blown Apart at Backwater Bridge -- Federal Lawsuit Filed in Minneapolis

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News

MINNEAPOLIS -- The FBI has destroyed vital evidence which would have revealed what munition blew apart the arm of Sophia Wilansky, 21, when she stood at Standing Rock in North Dakota, and peacefully defended the Missouri River from Dakota Access Pipeline.
It was just before dawn on November, 21, 2016 when Sophia's arm was blown to pieces.
More than a year has passed since Sophia began a series of traumatic surgeries to save her arm. A piece of shrapnel was found in her shattered arm.
The FBI has refused to return the evidence it took from her hospital room in Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, where she was transferred from Bismarck, for its trauma center.
In Minneapolis, the FBI took clothing that Sophia was wearing when she was struck, and the shrapnel found in her arm that was blown to pieces.
According to the government's own documents, these items of evidence were destroyed during the FBI's testing.
The FBI has refused to return the evidence to Sophia, allow a chemical analysis of it, or respond to the family's requests for the evidence.
A federal lawsuit has been filed in Minneapolis for the return of Sophia's property.
The federal lawsuit, filed in federal court in Minnesota on February 2, 2018, also states that a grand jury was convened in the investigation, and the person who transported Sophia to the hospital was subpoenaed.
However, the government then halted the grand jury. No one has been charged, despite a year long investigation.
The complaint states:

The FBI analyzed these items more than a year ago, and it took only two weeks for the analysis. The testing "degraded and permanently altered" the evidence:

When the FBI showed up at Sophia's hospital room, without a warrant, Sophia's father Wayne Wilansky acted in good faith. Wayne agreed to voluntarily allow the FBI to take the items. The FBI agreed in writing to return those items in a timely manner:

The court document also describes the array of so-called no-lethal weapons fired into the bodies of water protectors, as they stood to protect the drinking water of millions from the oil pipeline.
Pepper spray, sponge bullets, CS (tear gas) grenades, bean bags, stinger ball grenades and flash sound devices (concussion grenades) were fired into water protectors.
Numerous unarmed water protectors were seriously injured when they were hit by these projectiles fired by militarized police.
The court document states:

The court complaint also names those who are responsible, including the federal agencies involved, which includes Homeland Security, and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Since the FBI has failed to respond and return the evidence, the family is asking the court to order that the evidence be returned, or make the items available to Sophia's chemist for analysis.

Both the U.S. Attorney's Office and FBI are named in the complaint. The case number is posted below:

Also see:
Dineh Marcus Mitchell 'Morton County shot out my eye at Standing Rock'
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2018/01/dineh-marcus-mitchell-morton-county.html


Article copyright Brenda Norrell, Censored News

Water Protector 'Tufawon' Shares Struggle with Basque in Spain

Photos courtesy Isf Euskadi 

Article by Brenda Norrell

Censored News

Water Protector from Standing Rock camp Rafael Gonzalez, Tufawon, Dakota from Minneapolis, shared the message and struggle of Water of Life, with Basque in Spain as the 11 Country Tour of Europe concludes. Gonzalez, hip hop artist, performed throughout Europe. Gonzalez was joined by Nataanii Means, Dine' Lakota; Waste Win Young, Dakota Lakota from Standing Rock; and Rachel Heaton, Muckleshoot, on the Tour.

Spain and Italy were the last stops on the 11 Country Tour.

Rafael said, "Days ago, I was in Bologna, Italy with a group of activists from Làbas a political collective currently occupying the former Caserma Masini building/space. We did a critical mass bank action targeting Intensa San Paolo, one of several European banks funding the Dakota Access Pipeline. They are invested €349 million. We wrote a letter to the Carlo Messina and biked there to deliver it. Police in riot gear were waiting as they protected corporate interests. Although the bank did not send a representative to accept our letter, we made our message clear and I'm confident they hear our voices. We will not be silenced, and we will continue to put pressure on these banks that support the genocide, environmental genocide, environmental racism, and the desecration of our sacred land. Please join our struggle as we continue to fight the same colonial oppression we've faced for 500 years."

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"We are here to stop exploitation of Mother Earth. We are no longer going to sit in silence as Indigenous People. We are here to reclaim the land."
Rafael Gonzalez

Questa mattina abbiamo fatto visita alla Carisbo assieme a Tufawon, water protector del North Dakota in lotta contro l'oleodotto DAPL. Ecco cos'è successo!
#NOG7 #DIVESTDAPL Translation: This morning we visited the Carisbo with Tufawon Water Protector, North Dakota in the fight against the pipeline ADHD.

More

Scroll through Censored News for coverage of the 11 Country European Tour by Standing Rock Water Protectors. They urged divestment from Dakota Access Pipeline and fossil fuels, and investing in clean energy. Water Protectors carried the message of  respect for Indigenous Rights as they spoke at the United Nations, led the Anti-Trump Parade at NATO, and urged banks in Paris and Switzerland to divest in Dakota Access Pipeline. They met with grassroots defenders of the Earth throughout Europe, who are battling coal mines, fracking, oil and gas drilling.

Censored News

www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

Read more about Basque Country, Spain

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_Country_(autonomous_community)

BREAKING NEWS! Standing Rock Water Protectors Defend Sacred Water Sunday, Oct. 23, 2016

Cheyenne River Sioux Chairman Harold Frazier speaking to water protectors today. Frazier said he is asking lawyers to file for eminent domain of the land here. Frazier also said Cheyenne River Lakotas will be arriving on Monday. Our numbers are needed now, he said.

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    Standing Rock water protectors barricade Hwy 1806. Police arriving. Sunday, Oct. 23, 2016 mid-day

By Censored News

(Sunday 1:00 pm) Approximately four hundred (400) of our people have blocked Highway 1806 at Standing Rock. This is almost the entire encampment. They've used their vehicles and are gathering (Our people). The police are starting to make arrests.

Cell reception has always been spotty there. So, someone will be uploading videos soon.

Those who are near are asked to gather for another non-violent demonstration tomorrow, Monday. Expect to get pepper spray used on you. Do not resist. Expect to go to jail. Do not resist.

If your heart and mind are set on violence, then stay home, this is a non-violent protest. My Elders have spoken. Respect their, our, wishes.

(Sunday 12:30 pm) DAPL amassed behind hill with assault riffles. They came at us on ATVs and took one. There are behind us behind the hill, police in front. SUVs, ATMs, humvees armoured vehicles. We need you here now. We can stop this pipeline but we need you to move camp and get people here. -- Joye

On Saturday, there were 126 arrests, including two juveniles, and on Sunday, one arrest. The total arrested so far: 269.

Sunrise Water Protectors Sunday.

Sunrise Sunday in camp.

Sacred Ground Camp Established.

NOW Sunday Oct. 23, 2016

Standing Rock water defenders race forward to protect sacred after being attacked and beaten with police batons, and pepper sprayed on Saturday.

Sacred Ground Camp Created Near River 

Photos and article by Gidagaakoonz Mooz Ndootem
Censored News

BREAKING: WATER PROTECTORS CROSSED BARBWIRE FENCE DIRECTLY ON PIPELINE ROUTE, HWY 1806, NOW SETTING UP TEEPEES. COME TO STANDING ROCK, NOW. Goodmorning from Standing Rock. Today there is an urgent energy felt in camp, especially after yesterday's 83 arrests, and with the pipeline coming closer to highway 1806, and Lake Oahe/ Missouri River.
At 5:30 a.m. all the campers were called upon, and I don't often rush to the main fire so early in the morning. I was drawn to the passion of the speaker and recorded audio, some of it I transcribed here: "Everybody in camp needs to wake up and rise up.
We need every able body to come and stand with us today. They (DAPL) want to say they have eminent domain, they want to say the have right to poison us and our children.
Today we're going to take back our land, we're here to stand up for the rights of those who aren't here yet, those ones that are unborn.
We're the warriors that were sent here by the spirits to stand up, our warrior spirit brought us here together united, our unity is our strength, our prayer is our power, we need the camp, every single camp to rise up and come be a part of this today, we're going to stand and take back our land today.
We're going to control and protect it." 
The people marched to Sacred Ground Camp, which is ground zero of the pipeline route and have just crossed over the barbwire fence to set up teepees and a trailer, adding bodies and expanding the camp at Sacred Ground. 
Will keep you all posted on what happens next. #NoDAPL #StandingRock #OcetiSakowin #SacredGroundCamp #SacredStoneCamp #RedWarriorCamp
#HighStarCamp


Oyate arrested yesterday, on Saturday, still not located in North Dakota jails

By Oyate Media Network
Censored News
Yesterday a total of 83 water protectors were arrested, today everyone marched to the front lines where the black snakes lies, the head has just about reached our sacred water and will be trying to cross... Unci's n Lala's... Fathers n Mothers, Children and the youth have begun to protect and fight these police and their huge oil corporation with peace and prayer.
Some of the oyate that were arrested have not been located as they were moved to different jails around North Dakota, it is really tense and serious right now and we are calling for more warriors to come and help fight this poison pipeline!
300 + tribes united here, many have raised their flags here in support but now we need them to come back and support the Oceti Sakowin.

BREAKING: #NoDAPL blockade now going up on hwy 1806 by Sacred Ground Camp & Cannon Ball Ranch. #DAPL mercenaries riding ATVs snuck up on two water protectors doing recon, snatched them up, and the people ran after them, trying to rescue their friends. #StandingRock #MniWiconi

#MotherEarthsArmy #OcetiSakowinUnite#StandingFor18MillionPeople #MniWiconi#WaterIsLife #StandWithStandingRock#OglalaYouthOnTheMove#OyateMediaOnTheMove

Bernice Benally 'Pray for the Warriors, Take a Stand for Sacred Water'

By Bernice Benally
Censored News

"The warriors on the frontlines are so brave and courageous! If you're sitting at home in the comfort of your own, do not throw negativity into your thoughts for these brave warriors. Instead pray for them. They have chosen to take a stand against a billion dollar company and we all know how desperate the company is. Take a stand with the WATER Protectors and pray with your glass of water every day. Think about these relatives walking down the dirt road and narrow paved roads of their land. They braved the cold, skipped their cup of coffee, left loved ones behind to show solidarity with their brothers and sisters. Pray for them. It doesn't matter who you pray to what language, take a moment and think about the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and all the relatives, young and old, and in between bravely caring their chanupas, their tobacco, their prayers, their heart and soul, this is everything they are and represent. The sacred water, the Missouri River gives life to more than 18 milllion people, and it will be all over when the pipeline breaks and we watch in horror of the black snake spilling its guts into the once sacred river. We can only imagine the silence of the animal kingdom and the plant kingdom! No one speaks for them! We forget, we are all one in this cycle of life. We pray for our future generations and those yet to come. Stand for your rights as human beings. Mother Earth is in distress."
~BroweseInBeauty~

10:45 am Sunday, Oct. 23

Screen capture by Censored News.

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Minneapolis supports Standing Rock in resolution, Sheriff sends special forces to terrorize

Below: Hennepin Sheriff sent special forces to terrorize Standing Rock water protectors -- after Minneapolis and Saint Paul passed resolutions of support for Standing Rock's resistance to DAPL and protection of the water.
Minneapolis was the third city in the U.S. to pass a resolution in support of Standing Rock.
http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2016/09/minneapolis-third-city-to-pass.html

Deputy Shane Myre #533 Intergovernmental Relations Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office 612.543.0694 (office) 612.223.4951 (cell)

shane.myre@hennepin.us

“At the request of the Governor of the State of North Dakota, and as approved by the State of Minnesota, on Sunday, Minnesota Sheriff’s Deputies from the Hennepin, Anoka, and Washington Counties’ Sheriff’s Offices were deployed to assist in Morton County, North Dakota. These deputies are part of a larger contingent of hundreds of law enforcement officers from around the Country who have responded to the request made through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, (“EMAC”), a nationally adopted system for sharing personnel and resources via state-to-state aid agreements. These Minnesota peace officers will assist in maintaining the public’s safety, preserve the peace, and protect the constitutional rights of protesters. These Sheriff’s deputies train and prepare to respond to emergency calls throughout the region, state and nation following any declaration of a state of emergency. Reimbursement for all expenses related to providing this service will be made through the State of Minnesota. The EMAC system was ratified by Congress and has been adopted as law in all 50 states -- to ensure no sheriff, no deputy, and no state stands alone in the state of an emergency.” Respectfully, Shane Deputy Shane Myre #533 Intergovernmental Relations Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office 612.543.0694 (office) 612.223.4951 (cell) shane.myre@hennepin.us

AIM's Clyde Bellecourt: Tired of Bernie, Hillary and Trump Bullshit

Video screen photo by Censored News

By Brenda Norrell

Censored News

Feb. 12, 2016

Dutch translation by Alice Holemans at NAIS
www.denaisgazet.be/nieuws/clyde-bellecourt-van-de-american-indian-movement-is-de-bullshit-van-bernie-hillary-en-trump-beu
MINNEAPOLIS -- The American Indian Movement’s Clyde Bellecourt refused to be silenced and demanded to know if Bernie Sanders would honor American Indian Treaties if elected President of the United States, during a Forum sponsored by Neighborhoods Organizing for Change and Black Lives Matter.

Bellcourt was adamant that he was "tried of the bullshit," by US presidential candidates Bernie, Hillary and Trump.
Refusing to be silenced during the Forum, Bellecourt asked Bernie Sanders, “I want to know if you are going to honor those Treaties? If you become President of the United States, are you going to honor the Treaties made with Native people?”
US Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders responded, “Native American people have gotten a terrible deal from the government. I will do everything that I can to redress that.”
Bellecourt countered: “You still have not answered the question.”

Clyde Bellecourt, ‘Thunder Before the Storm,’ founder of the American Indian Movement begins his comments at the Forum with words in his own language, Anishinabe.
Bellecourt said when he was born 79 years ago, he was forbidden to speak his language, pray, sing and dance, by the US government, in collusion with the churches.
“They have taken everything but our dignity, and our pride.”
“The Indian people were totally forgotten, like we didn’t exist anymore.”
“They thought John Wayne got all of us, George Armstrong Custer killed all of us. The United States government got rid all of us -- but we are still here.”
“I get angry when I hear you, and Hillary, Donald Trump and the rest of these right wingers, never saying a certain single word about what happened to the Native people of this land, this is why the Movement was formed.”
Bellecourt described the real intent of the nine and one-half month trial in St. Paul after the Occupation of Wounded Knee. The purpose was for the United States to extinguish all Native Tribes.
“We felt if we did not stand up, stand up for what is right for Indian people, we would surely perish as a people.”
It was clear. AIM knew that the US would not honor the Treaties because the US did not know anything about them.
During the Forum, the moderator attempted to silence Bellecourt. However, Bellecourt responded, “I’m tired of this bullshit.”
Bellecourt said AIM went to the United Nations for recognition because the elders asked them to, even though they were often labeled "militant," “radicals” and “terrorists.”
The Native elders knew that if they did not go to the United Nations, the US "would wipe us out."
The moderator again attempted to silence Bellecourt with the words,‘This is a Black Forum.” Bellecourt, demanding to speak, said, “This is not a Black Forum, it is for People of Color and I am one of those colors.”
Bellecourt described AIM's efforts in the Americas, Congo and South Africa, during the struggle for recognition at the United Nations, as the United States attempted extinction.
Bellecourt then posed his question to Bernie Sanders, “I want to know if you are going to honor those Treaties?”
“If you become President of the United States, are you going to honor the Treaties made with Indian people?”
Sanders responded, “Native American people have gotten a terrible deal from the federal government. I will do everything that I can to redress that. Absolutely.”
But Bellecourt countered that this was no answer.
“You still have not answered the question.”

Watch this video http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2016/02/video-aims-clyde-bellecourt-to-bernie.html

Please share our link. For permission to repost article: brendanorrell@gmail.com

Minneapolis AIM spied on via Facebook by Mall of America

Censored News

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Intercept exposes how the Mall of America in Minneapolis spied on the AIM Interpretive Center, Black Lives Matter, Idle No More and others using fake Facebook profiles in a scheme known as 'catfishing.' As a result, arrests resulted from peaceful gatherings at the Mall.

The fake Facebook account “liked” Facebook groups associated with Ferguson activists, the American Indian Movement Interpretive Center, Occupy Minneapolis, SumOfUs, the SEIU Minnesota State Council, and Communities United Against Police Brutality, among others, The Intercept reports.

Jim Lukaszewski, a crisis communications expert at Risdall Public Relations, profiled efforts by mall security to carefully track political protesters. In a case study posted on the Risdall website titled “Fulminating Flash mobs,” Lukaszewski explains how mall security responded to a flash mob dance by Idle No More, a Native American rights group. “Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus were being aggressively monitored using Topsy, Monitor, and Kurrently,” the case study claims, noting that arrest kits were prepared in an area “hidden from public view to avoid antagonizing the crowd.”

Read the full story at The Intercept:
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/03/18/mall-americas-intelligence-analyst-catfished-black-lives-matter-activists-collect-information

We Are Still Here: 40 Years of AIM in Photographs

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Photo Dick Bancroft

Listen to the words of Clyde Bellecourt on how women gave the people hope when AIM was formed in Minneapolis. Bill Means describes how the movement has come full circle, and the Mayor of Minneapolis makes a proclamation honoring 45 years of AIM in Minneapolis

Video published on Jun 3, 2013
Journalist and writer Laura Waterman Wittstock and photographer Dick Bancroft have recorded, written and taken pictures of the American Indian Movement (AIM) for over 40 years. Their book, We Are Still Here published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press, is a testament to that effort. It includes Wittstock's reflections on covering the native American civil rights movement as a young reporter in Washington, D.C., as well as some of Bancroft's striking and iconic images as the movement struggled for Native independence.
An exhibit of Bancroft's photos opened May 10 at All My Relations Gallery on Franklin Avenue, celebrated by drummers performing the AIM honor song, traditional foods and a gathering of AIM activists, including Clyde Bellecourt and Bill Means. Bellecourt, a member of the White Earth band of Ojibwe, reminded the crowd what it took for them to get to this place. "Our people were so beaten down," he shouted to the crowd, "We didn't think we could pull ourselves up," he said as he went on to tell people how AIM began as a group of people meeting on the Northside of Minneapolis. After years of enduring poverty and abuse from police, the Indian activists decided to take matters into their own hands. It wasn't just about better living conditions for Native Americans on and off the reservation, but about reviving their culture and demanding the federal government honor its treaties and show native nations the respect they deserved.
In 1972, Bellecourt and others traveled to Washington in a protest called The Trail of Broken Treaties to demand the federal government remove officials running the Bureau of Indian Affairs who AIM accused of being corrupt and greedy. That's where the photos of Bancroft's and the words of Waterman Wittstock come into play. Photos of the BIA building takeover showed American Indian men and women not as the cowboys and Indians of the John Wayne movie-myth making era, but as anxious and restless souls overturning desks, banging on drums and demanding the ear of federal officials to say that Indians were still here.
After three days, the protesters left the BIA building, taking with them the jobs of three officials in charge of the decision making. It had been a victory, but AIM members would take another militant stand at the impoverished village of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in just a few months. Bancroft would also be at that 1973 armed confrontation between activists and their supporters on one side, and reservation officials and federal authorities on the other. Bancroft had gotten a camera as a birthday gift from his wife and was seen as an unofficial reporter within the movement. He remembers being the only one with a camera and the ability to afford the film.