An update on Makoce Ikikcupi

In our last post, we wrote to you about Makoce Ikikcupi, an organization that is aiming to restore Dakota homeland in Minnesota. Makoce Ikikcupi is currently working on bill HF1042/SF1087, which would create a waiver process to allow Indigenous people to build and inhabit traditional forms of housing. 

The good news is, this bill is moving forward: It is on the agenda for the MN Senate Labor and Industry Policy Committee on Wednesday, March 10th.

Because of the rules around bills and Minnesota congressional hearings, the bill also needs to get on the agenda for the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee before Friday, March 12th. If the bill doesn’t get this hearing before Friday, Makoce Ikikcupi will have to wait until the next congressional session to try again to get it passed. 

There are a few simple ways you can help ensure this bill’s success:

1) If you are a constituent of one the MN Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee members, contact them and tell them that you support this bill and want them to hold a hearing on HF1042/SF1087, Protecting Indigenous Cultural Practices, before the March 12th deadline. If anyone in your network is a constituent of one of these committee members, tell them to contact their representative to move the bill forward. More details about what to say/write and how to report back to us here.

Not sure who represents you? You can find your representatives here. 

The Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee members are: 

• Bruce D. Anderson (29)
• Karla Bigham (54)
• Bill Ingebrigtsen (08) 
• Mark Johnson (01)
• Mary Kiffmeyer (30)
• Ron Latz (46)
• Warren Limmer (34)
• Andrew Mathews (15)
• Sandra L. Pappas (65)

2)If you are a constituent of anyone on the Senate Labor and Industry Policy Committee, contact them and tell them you support HF1042/SF1087, Protecting Indigenous Cultural Practices. While this committee already has the bill on their agenda, it’s still helpful to let them know there’s support for this bill. 

The Senate Labor and Industry Policy Committee members are: 

• Gene Dornink (27)
• Michael P. Goggin (21)
• Jason Isaacson (42)
• Jennifer A. McEwen (07)
• Jason Rarick (11)

3) Contact your state representative and senator, encourage them to support this bill, and ask them to let you know if they will. This is helpful even if you do not live in the district of a committee member. We want to make sure every representative and senator knows about the bill. And we want to get a sense of how much support there is and what the obstacles might be.

4) Sign up for phone banking, to encourage allies in the SURJ network to contact their representatives. Sign up here.    

5) Share our blog posts about Makoce Ikikcupi with your network.