10/13/2026
Every Sunday for the last 3 years, we called The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Building home for Sewing Sundays💔 Our grant through Hennepin County was just renewed for 2027, I need to find a new space to reopen Sewing Sundays if you have any suggestions, we are in South Minneapolis. TIA. I’m praying for all of the programs, their staff, and all of the community members who rely on their services everyday 💔Such a sad loss for the community!
A three-alarm fire in south Minneapolis on Sunday, October 11, damaged the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s Minneapolis Urban Office, threatened irreplaceable Native American records and injured two firefighters.
The fire broke out around 4 p.m. near 13th and East Franklin avenues. Firefighters encountered heavy flames, blocked aisles, and collapsing shelving. Portions of the commercial building’s roof collapsed.
Two firefighters suffered minor burns and heat exhaustion. No tribal staff or community members were injured.
The neighboring Minnesota Chippewa Tribe building at 1308 Franklin Avenue sustained significant damage, forcing the Fond du Lac Band’s Minneapolis Urban Office to close until further notice.
The building also housed valuable Native American historical records. According to FOX 9, the executive director of Wicoie Nandagikendan said the building contained Minnesota’s oldest Dakota language archive, portions of which had not yet been digitized.
The building also stored some archives belonging to The Circle News, which staff retrieved Monday morning, October 12.
“This building is a vital lifeline where our staff comes together every day to feed, support, and uplift our people,” the Fond du Lac Band stated.
The extent of damage to the historical archives remains unclear. The Band is exploring temporary service arrangements while investigators continue to determine the cause of the fire.
Sources:
* MPR News, October 12, 2026
* KSTP 5 Eyewitness News, October 11, 2026
* FOX 9, October 11, 2026
* Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Facebook, October 11, 2026
* The Circle News, archive retrieval update, October 12, 2026
