Politics & Government
TSA Apologizes For Harassment Of Ojibwe Woman At MSP Airport
The woman said a TSA agent grabbed her hair braids and said "giddyup!" while she was going through security at the Minneapolis airport.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Transportation Security Administration has apologized for the way one of the agency's employees behaved towards an Ojibwe woman going through security at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport.
Tara Houska said an agent pulled her hair braids behind her shoulders, laughed and said "giddyup!" and pretended they were horse reins.
When I informed the middle-aged blonde woman who had casually used her authority to dehumanize and disrespect me, she said “Well it was just in fun, I’m sorry. Your hair is lovely.” <— that is NOT an apology and it is NOT okay.
— tara houska (@zhaabowekwe) January 13, 2020
The MSP Airport account quickly reached out regarding the situation, responding to Houska's tweets about an hour after they were published.
Find out what's happening in Southwest Minneapolisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
We are so sorry to hear about your experience, Tara, and we'll send this tweet along to @TSA leadership for follow-up. We'd also be happy to file a formal complaint on your behalf, if you DM us your contact information.
— MSP Airport (@mspairport) January 13, 2020
Later, the TSA's federal security director for Minnesota, Cliff Van Leuven, apologized to Houska for the incident, Minnesota Public Radio reported.
"Treating the public we are sworn to serve and protect with dignity and respect is our calling — every passenger, every day," he told MPR. "We’ll learn from this."
Find out what's happening in Southwest Minneapolisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
