Native American School ‘Trashed’ Over Thanksgiving Weekend

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Nawayee Center School students and teachers returned from the long Thanksgiving weekend to find their building burglarized and vandalized. The grade 7-12 school — which primarily serves Native American youth in the Phillips neighborhood — is asking the community for donations to assist with the recovery.

“Our school was trashed, our vans were stolen, beautiful artwork that our students have been working on for months was vandalized, and our hamster was taken,” administrators wrote on GoFundMe. “The staff, students, and families of Nawayee Center School are deeply saddened by this devastating incident.”

Minneapolis police told Patch there are five juvenile suspects in the case — including boys and girls – all of which have been identified. Two of the suspects are students at the school.

Officers checked on the school early Sunday after the University of Minnesota police arrested a pair of suspects they say were driving one of the stolen vehicles.

When officers arrived at the school, the rear gate was open and a window was broken, according to the police report. According to the investigator in the case, everything has since been recovered except for one van and a hamster.

Authorities say they do not believe the school was targeted for racial reasons. "With two suspects being students at the school I would say this was a crime of opportunity," said Sgt. Catherine Michal.

Joe Rice, the Executive Director of Nawayee, told Patch the school is now looking to the community for help in "beefing up" security. "If anyone is willing to help with the resources to increase our security system given the neighborhood we are in, this is something we need" he wrote in an email. Rice said they found a bullet hole in a school window last year.

"Oh, and it looks like we are going to need a new van and some paint to cover some graffiti on the walls."

Images via GoFundMe