In Minnesota, Native Americans experience homelessness at a much higher rate than other racial or ethnic groups. Many Native people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Minneapolis live in encampments, which have been criticized as areas ripe with violence and drug use.

What to do with encampments — and whether to close them — has become a divisive issue in Minneapolis. The issue has risen to the forefront again following a shooting earlier this month at a homeless encampment in south Minneapolis that left one dead and six others injured.

Joe Hobot is the CEO and president of the American Indian Opportunities and Industrialization Center in south Minneapolis and has a doctorate in education from Hamline University. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini to share his perspective.