ACLU of Michigan Presses Detroit Police to Repair Relations With Indigenous Community After Rouge Park Ceremony

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is urging the Detroit Police Department to take part in restorative practices with the city's Indigenous communities, following an incident in Rouge Park earlier this year.

The organization sent a letter on Monday asking the department to develop a better understanding of Indigenous culture and to take steps to prevent future violations of religious rights. Representatives of the group then spoke about the request in Rouge Park.

The dispute dates to February, when police interrupted an Indigenous ceremony in the park. Members of the Detroit Sugarbush Project had lit a sacred fire to mark the beginning of the sugar maple harvest. Officers forced the gathering to end, and some were described as rude. Multiple officers were captured on video behaving disrespectfully, and about a dozen responded to the scene. The group did not have the proper permits.

ACLU attorney Bonsitu Kitaba-Gaviglio said accountability starts with admitting a mistake. "We are calling on the Detroit Police to recognize that they have engaged in actions which violate the constitutional rights of the native peoples here and to rectify those wrongs by engaging in a restorative justice practice and additional training and understanding of what these practices means to the native peoples here in Detroit," she said.

Mark Fancher, another ACLU attorney, said the organization would prefer to resolve the matter without litigation. "Contrary to what many people believe, the ACLU does not enjoy suing people and we would much rather have those who have violated the rights of others acknowledge the violation and act quickly and promptly to correct the errors that have been made," he said. The ACLU of Michigan has offered to help facilitate healing and education within the department regarding Indigenous people.

Police have not agreed that any wrongdoing occurred. The department maintains its officers did nothing wrong, and none have faced punishment. It has, however, agreed to meet with members of the Indigenous community and to provide additional diversity, equity and inclusion training.

Antonio Cosme of the Detroit Sugarbush Project said his group and other members of the Indigenous community have a list of demands. Chief among them, he said, is that the city permanently recognize the Sugarbush Project and work toward "land back." Cosme described the concept as "returning lands to the original peoples who were stewards of those lands prior to European invasion and colonization."

The group also wants the city to formally reprimand the officers involved in disrupting the sacred fire and to honor treaties that affect Indigenous rights.

A Detroit Police spokesperson said Indigenous groups had asked for time to heal after the incident, and that no timetable has been set for a meeting with the people who took part in the ceremony.