ACLU opens office in Bemidji to track discrimination against Native Americans

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August 30, 2004
Tom Robertson - Reporter, Chuck Samuelson - Interviewee, Audrey Thayer - Interviewee, Sharon Smith - Interviewee, Keith Winger - Interviewee, Bob Shimek - Interviewee
Listen: ACLU opens office in Bemidji to track discrimination against Indians.
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Mainstreet Radio's Tom Robertson reports that Minnesota court records show Native Americans living in some northern counties are arrested at a rate far higher than any other race. That's got the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota.

The ACLU has had a presence in Minnesota since the 1950s. Its work has been focused mostly in the Twin Cities. Now, the ACLU has opened a satellite office in Bemidji. Organization officials say they'll target what they view as racial profiling against Native Americans, but not everyone agrees racism is to blame.

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