Minnesota has a big problem: Native Americans make up just 2% of the state’s adult population, but they represent 30% of the homeless population.

This disparity is staggering, sobering and devastating. But surprising?

Tent Cities. The Wall of Forgotten Natives.

When you drive around the streets of Minneapolis and other areas of the Twin Cities in recent years, the impact of homelessness on Native American communities — and particularly, unsheltered homelessness — has been unmissable. But our relatives’ stories are far more complex than what you see at first glance.

Wilder Research has been working in partnership with the Minnesota Tribal Collaborative to Prevent and End Homelessness, a group of tribal nations working together on homelessness, as well as housing service providers across the state to try to capture and tell these stories.

In September, we released two companion reports (here, and here) that paint the most comprehensive picture to date of the challenges facing Native Americans experiencing homelessness statewide. This is what we learned:

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