And here it takes an even more suspicious turn. Why would these organizers who are still unnamed using a somewhat strong arm tactic of crime against native women to push this project? Are the cars parked down there at night all trafficking and abusing women? And what is more family oriented than fishing, canoeing, etc?
“Melanie Moniz, with National Folklife Network -- a nonprofit focused on folk and traditional art -- was invited by the meeting organizers to speak regarding the history and culture that the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation have related to the river.
She told the Tribune she believes it will be good for the community to have another public space. She thinks it will make the area safer.
“What excites me the most, as someone who is an Indigenous person impacted by the missing, murdered Indigenous people's epidemic, thinking about open lots and public safety … the shift from these open parking lots where cars may sit for hours after hours and violence may be happening, taking that and making something that is family focused,” Moniz said.”
