WHEREAS the history of people with disabilities in Minnesota is largely undocumented and unknown to the average Minnesotan;
WHEREAS the personal stories of people who lived in Minnesota state institutions were largely untold and were at risk of being lost forever as people died;
WHEREAS more than thirteen thousand individuals with disabilities died in state institutions between the years 1866 and 1997 and were buried in unmarked or numbered graves;
WHEREAS the Remembering With Dignity Initiative secured a legislative appropriation and marked eight thousand graves in Minnesota’s state institution cemeteries;
WHEREAS the state issued a formal apology for burying individuals with disabilities in unmarked and numbered graves.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
The Arc Minnesota honors the lives of the Minnesotans with disabilities who lived and died in state institutions, and were memorialized in the Remembering With Dignity Initiative.
Resolution approved by the Delegate Body at The Arc Minnesota Annual Meeting on October 28, 2007.
Revised Resolution Drafted by The Arc Minnesota Position Statements Task Force, June 18, 2013.
Revised Statement Again Edited and Then Approved by The Arc Minnesota Position Statements Task Force, June 22, 2013.
This statement was approved by The Arc Minnesota Public Policy Committee on August 21, 2013.
This statement was approved by The Arc Minnesota Board of Directors on September 23, 2013.
This statement was approved by delegates at The Arc Minnesota Annual Business Meeting, November 2, 2013.
Resolution Revised by The Arc Minnesota Position Statements Work Group on October 17, 2019.
Revised Resolution Again Edited on October 30, 2019.
This Resolution Was Approved by The Arc Minnesota Public Policy Committee on October 30, 2019.