Native advocates say they've been silenced by Lincoln city officials who approved housing development

Opponents of a development across the street from Wilderness Park and a Native sweat lodge in southwest Lincoln were back at the City Council Monday to illustrate how they say they've been treated.

Several people took their turn at the microphone during the public comment period, standing in silence for the five-minute window for each speaker. Others sat in the audience with duct tape over their mouths, and about 50 people gathered outside, holding signs, singing and playing Native drums.

“You effectively silenced the voices of your community with lawsuits and police and so I’m going to take that time to reflect that silence,” said Wyatt Nelson, one of 10 people who expressed their opposition by standing in silence at the podium.

Numerous others spoke, many of them talking about the history of colonization and Natives being stripped of their lands.

Fran Kaye said although the developer may hold title to the land, she asked the council to consider the history of taking land from Natives for profit.

“We ask that you consider what that means,” she said.

Rose Godinez, senior legal policy counsel for the ACLU of Nebraska, which represented opponents in a lawsuit involving the development, suggested the city could reverse its actions, though it’s unclear if that’s possible, since the ordinances have been signed by the mayor and are in effect.

She also suggested council members, the mayor and the city attorney meet with advocates, listen to their concerns and “humble themselves to the original landowners ... and confront and dismantle the legacies of colonization.”

“The ACLU supports and defends the rights of all Native American peoples to retain their culture and religious tradition and practices, and this religious freedom is tied to the protection of the land,” she said.

The land in question is about 75 acres south of Pioneers Boulevard between First Street and U.S. 77, where Wilderness Crossing LLC plans to build 162 single-family homes, 134 town homes and 205 apartments. Sam Manzitto Jr. bought the land from the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln.

The land is across the street from Wilderness Park and a Native sweat lodge on private land known as the Fish Farm. Opponents say a housing development will cause flooding issues, negatively impact wildlife and native habitat and threaten the sanctity of the sweat lodge.

Godinez said trees on Snell Hill – where the development is planned – play a part in Native ceremonies and trees bulldozed last week had Native prayer ties protesters saw in a pile on the ground after the trees came down.

The land has been designated in the City-County Comprehensive Plan for future urban residential development since 2002, and before the council approved the zoning and annexation changes, the developer made several modifications to plans in attempt to address concerns.

Among those: building a 6-foot fence along the east side of the development nearest Wilderness Park, creating a 10-foot outlot and including a stretch of First Street in the development to reduce traffic, promising to plant native vegetation in the outlot and housing covenant restrictions.

The council passed the zoning and annexation ordinances in April and the owner of the Fish Farm filed a lawsuit appealing the council's actions and opponents filed an appeal with the city Board of Zoning Appeals.

Judges dismissed both the landowner’s appeal and a request by city officials to decide whether the zoning board had jurisdiction. The judge in the zoning appeals case said that was up to the zoning appeals board, and city officials told opponents the board didn’t have jurisdiction.

That led to last week’s protests at the development site, as bulldozers began tree removal.

The council took a break after people who’d been outside lined the back of the council chambers holding signs. Council Chairwoman Tammy Ward asked opponents to remove the signs because a city ordinance prohibits signs in the council chambers.

After the break, the signs were gone but many of the protesters remained, and several more spoke, appealing to the council to recognize Native concerns.

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