Four Winds American Indian Councils' attorney asks City of Denver to 'end the harrassment'

Update, 09/21/21: After publication, Four Winds American Indian Council's board chair, Mateo Parsons, responded to the mayor's comment. Read below.

DENVER — Just weeks after the City of Denver swept an encampment of unhoused Indigenous people, a civil rights attorney representing the Four Winds American Indian Council is asking Mayor Michael Hancock to stop what he calls "harassment and intimidation."

In a letter addressed to Hancock and Denver City Attorney Kristin Bronson, Andrew McNulty of Killmer, Lane & Newman, LLP calls out the City of Denver’s tactics against the encampment. The letter cites 24-hour surveillance, fencing, and a zoning code violation notice as acts of intimidation and discrimination against the Four Winds American Indian Council.

In addition to sweeping the road and sidewalk in front of Four Winds on 5th Avenue and Bannock Street, the city also issued a zoning violation to the organization for allowing five individuals to reside on Four Winds’ property.

“It is clear that the enforcement of the zoning code is being discriminatorily targeted against Four Winds because they are an organization of Native residents of Denver and they have dared to question the mayor’s actions in brutally sweeping the homeless encampment outside their doorstep,” McNulty wrote.

You can read McNulty's full letter here.

Additionally, McNulty mentioned a brief history of the discrimination against native and Indigenous peoples in Denver—recounting the Treaty of Fort Wise which ended up reducing land for Native and Indigenous people and was a precursor to the Sand Creek Massacre.

“Four Winds’ members are the descendants of Native people who lived on this land before it was stolen by the federal government under the invalid Treaty of Fort Wise," McNulty wrote. "That you would not listen to their requests, and would instead evict Native people from that land through a sweep, demonstrates the emptiness of your administration’s professed solidarity with the Native community."

Mateo Parsons, the board chair at Four Winds American Indian Council, says the entire situation is very unfortunate. Parsons told Rocky Mountain PBS that since the August 31 sweep, the organization has been “working collaboratively with the City of Denver, city partners, as well as other Native-serving organizations to advance a Native-preference Safe Outdoor Space initiative.” 

The Safe Outdoor Space (SOS) is set to open in November, according to Parsons.

However, according to Parsons, the city has been targeting Four Winds and threatening future citations for allowing some unhoused folks to reside on Four Winds’ property. 

“The city hasn’t provided any immediate solutions to getting our people off the streets until the SOS site is open, so Four Winds stepped up to provide our own solution. Now, the city is trying to force us to either send our relatives back out onto the streets or face more citations and fines for allowing them to camp on our property,” Parsons told Rocky Mountain PBS.

In his letter, McNulty calls the City’s actions illegal, immortal, and likely in violation of several laws: the Fourth Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”), and Four Winds’ right to be free from retaliation for engaging in free speech. 

“Denver must immediately stop violating Four Winds’ rights. We welcome the opportunity to speak about these issues, but only after Denver ceases its campaign of retaliation and harassment against Four Winds,” McNulty wrote.

According to Parsons, Hancock’s office will give Four Winds permission to allow people to stay on the property on the condition Four Winds is converted into a temporary indoor shelter.

“I’ve been told by city officials that if we don’t move people inside, ‘Enforcement is on the table.'” Parsons said.

He added: “Our space needs to be available to the rest of the American Indian community who need it for wakes and funerals, talking circles, and other community events. Further, our building is simply not equipped to be a shelter.”

In response to McNulty’s letter, the mayor's office sent Rocky Mountain PBS the following statement: “Mr. McNulty’s implications that what is occurring here is in any fashion racially or ethnically motivated is outrageous and without foundation. Unsanctioned encampments pose a health and safety risk to those living in them and those living around them. The Mayor has been clear that they cannot persist when better alternatives remain available. For further context on those who were connected to real solutions as opposed to the accusations of those who want them to stay in these conditions: there were five people from that encampment who were placed in Safe Outdoor Spaces and 10 who were provided two-week motel vouchers to help them connect with longer term services and resources. The week before the actual cleanup, the Homeless Outreach Team contacted a woman living in the encampment outside Four Winds who had three small children (including a toddler) living in the tent with her. Nobody at Four Winds or within the camp had offered her assistance or bothered to provide resources for the children. DPD was able to get her and her children out of the encampment and connected with supportive resources.”

Parsons, who is Warm Springs Apache and Yaqui, believes Four Winds is being harassed for supporting unhoused individuals. 

“Regardless, the city and the Mayor feel the need to try to force us to use our property and our facility in a way that they dictate. No other private business, homeowner, or nonprofit would be treated this way by the city, so why are we?” Parsons said.

He added: “If the city is really concerned about people camping on our property, they should step up with a viable alternative that keeps our relatives out of the elements and safe from violence until the SOS site is operational in November. Our people deserve at least that much,” Parsons said.

Shortly after publication, Parsons responded to the comment from the mayor's office:

"The question remains: what about after the motel vouchers expired? The city has no plan for them until November 10th, and none of them got long-term housing in those 14 days. Those people are back on the streets. What about the people camping at Four Winds? The city also has no immediate alternative if they don't want them camped at our building. In addition, I think it's really sad and disrespectful that the Mayor's office decided it was appropriate to use the story of a vulnerable Native family as a talking point to avoid taking responsibility for the impacts of their policies. Our relatives who are struggling and decide to trust city-funded outreach workers help them out of difficult situations deserve better than to have their situations dragged out into the public without their consent. From my vantage, the city is shirking its responsibilities onto Four Winds and simultaneously punishing us for stepping up and at least providing a solution for people to be safe until the SOS site opens November 10th. That doesn't make much sense to me.

Victoria Carodine is the Digital Content Producer for Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at victoriacarodine@rmpbs.org.