Jorge Grijalva had 90 minutes of notice before Minneapolis city crews and police arrived Tuesday morning to clear the camp he had called home for the past month. It was the second time this month Grijalva and others have been uprooted as the city evicts homeless encampments that many unhoused Native residents rely on.
Grijalva pushed a bike and a shopping cart filled with his belongings down 14th Avenue S. about 12:30 p.m. He carried out the essentials: a fire extinguisher, an ax, a lawn chair, a small generator, and a backpack, among other items.
“Being that we only had 90 minutes, it was quite chaotic and quite time-consuming to achieve this [in the] timeframe,” said Grijalva, who is not Native.
He was headed towards the Franklin Library to charge his electronics and drop off books.
Grijalva and his wife, who is Native, left behind many of their belongings, including clothes, so they could “just move on, rather than having to experience the whole start-to-finish eviction. It’s better we just get out of there.”