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Attachment 5 <br />METROPOLITAN URBAN INDIAN DIRECTORS GROUP <br />rd <br />February 3, 2019 <br />Mayor Roe and Roseville City Council Members: <br />This letter has been written on behalf of the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors Group <br />(MUID) a collaborative of over twenty-five American Indian organizations operating within <br />the Twin Cities metropolitan area of Minnesota(please see the attached organizational listing). <br />This letter is written i <br />Pocahontas Park Name -Community Engagement and Analysis Planintroduced to <br />the City Council on January 25th, 2021, with the ultimate goal of renaming Pocahontas Park. <br />Metro Urban Indian Directors (MUID) is a network of Native-led organizations serving the <br />Urban Indian Community in the Twin Cities. Nearly 30 years ago, the Metropolitan Urban <br />Indian Directors (MUID) group was formed by Executive Directors of American Indian <br />organizations in Minneapolis to support each other in their work providing services to the <br />American Indian Community. Today, the work of MUID is supported by a Memorandum of <br />Understanding with the City of Minneapolis and a Memorandum of Agreement with <br />Minneapolis Public Schools. <br />MUID supports the renaming of Pocahontas Park for many reasons. First and foremost, <br />Pocahontas did not come from a tribal nation affiliated with what is now known as the state of <br />Minnesota, but from the PamunkeyTribe of what is now known as the state of Virginia. <br />Additionally, Pocahontas has been over sexualized and stereotypically used in media in ways <br />that degrade Native women and feeds into the harmful stereotypes of sex servitude, exotic <br />fetishism, and sexual violence. This is illustrated by the current crisis of our Missing and <br />Murdered Indigenous Women. Finally, renaming this park provides an opportunity to truly <br />honor this place with a name that centers around the landscape and/or the original people of the <br />land where this park is situated. The renaming process also serves as an opportunity for <br />education and collaboration. <br /> <br />