Resolve to be always beginning — to be a beginner. –Rainer Maria Rilke
I’m hoping some Friends might consider Mutual Aid to be part of their new story this new year. Yesterday’s post was an introduction.
This is a link to a lot more information about my experiences with Mutual Aid. Mutual Aid in the Midwest
I realize I didn’t explain yesterday’s comment about friendships with native people. Indigenous peoples have always lived in ways that could be seen as Mutual Aid. And my good friend Ronnie James, an Indigenous organizer, has been my Mutual Aid mentor from the beginning of my experiences. This work is supported by the Great Plains Action Society that Ronnie is part of.
“We are Indigenous Peoples of the Great Plains proactively working to resist and Indigenize colonial-capitalist institutions and behaviors. We defend the land where our ancestors lie and where the children walk. Our goal is to reclaim what has been stolen and oppressed to create a better world for us all.“
New Year’s resolutions tend to be about wanting more of something we desire and/or less of something we do not, and while they surely have their noble side, they also often emanate from subtle and less subtle forms of perceived lack, scarcity, comparison, self-flagellation, and judgment. The “should” and “should not” messages we send ourselves when we make resolutions can be harsh and incriminating. These are qualities we may want to endeavor not to perpetuate and strengthen when we make our commitments this year.
How about making “the means more of the ends” by putting gratefulness rather than scarcity at the center of the resolutions we make this year? How about bringing a more gentle form of motivation, rooted in appreciation, celebration, and acceptance, to our goals? How about letting gratitude guide us?
Tonight, my friends at the Great Plains Action Society will present Episode 1 of an Indigenous web series related to climate, water, and resource extraction on the Plains.
“Currently, the majority of the media and public pushback is coming from white landowners. However, these pipelines are being proposed to be forced through stolen land and treaty territories where Indigenous voices need to be heard. This forum will discuss the legal, environmental, and tribal perspectives of Carbon Capture and Storage.”
Great Plains Action Society
Event today: PRAIRIE NOT PIPELINES An Indigenous web series on climate, water and resource extraction on the plains December 28 at 6PM CST
Check out the first webisode of Prairie Not Pipelines, an Indigenous web series focused on climate, water, and resource extraction on the plains. Hosted by Mahmud Fitil and Sikowis Nobiss. Folks from across the Great Plains in ND, SD, NE, and Iowa will be discussing the recent push for CO2 pipelines across the region. Currently, the majority of the media and public pushback is coming from white landowners. However, these pipelines are being proposed to be forced through stolen land and treaty territories where Indigenous voices need to be heard. This forum will discuss the legal, environmental, and tribal perspectives of Carbon Capture and Storage. These projects are being touted as environmentally sound when in fact they are huge greenwashed projects which extend a lifeline to the fossil fuel industry which is responsible for our current climate emergency in the first place. These investors and corporations are merely looking to profit from government programs and subsidies rather than address our climate woes in any meaningful way. The people, land, and water in the way of their profiteering ambitions are of little concern. Guest Speakers From Iowa: Carolyn Raffensperger – Executive Director, Science and Environmental Health Network Donielle Wanatee – Meskwaki Nation, Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa From Nebraska: Michelle Free – HoChunk/Ojibwa, Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska Brian Jorde – Managing Lawyer, Domina Law Group From South Dakota: Chase Jensen – Community Organizer and Lobbyist, Dakota Rural Action Frank James – Staff Director, Dakota Rural Action Joseph White Eyes – Lakota, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe & Collective Member of Cheyenne River Grassroots Collective From North Dakota: Lisa DeVille – The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation Scott Skokos – Executive Director, Dakota Resource Council
Two Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) pipelines are proposed to be built in Iowa. There are many reasons carbon capture is a bad idea. The table below lists numerous organizations working to stop CCS.
December 20 at 5:30 PM the Mason City Community School District will be meeting at 1515 South Pennsylvania Ave in Mason City (be there by 4:30). Map below.
Monday, December 20, 2021, from 5:30 – 6:30 PM CST Mason City Community School District Administration Building 1515 South Pennsylvania Avenue, Mason City, Iowa
Important Notes: – Enter the building on the South side. If you would like to speak then you must be signed up to speak before 5:30 PM. – We are encouraging folks to show up by 4:30 PM to fill the room with positivity! – Folks signed up to speak have 5 minutes allotted, but we encourage shorter testimonies so more may be heard. – We are there only to make a case to the Mason City School Board that they must NOT reinstate the mascot. We DO NOT encourage any interaction with the “Save the Name” group outside or inside the meeting. We insist on non-violent language and behavior.
The Mason City Community School District realized, after 96 years, that they needed to retire the racist Mohawk mascot. They did so after the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe told them to stop and the Meskwaki Nation/ACLU and Great Plains Action Society have been very public about abolishing racist mascots in Iowa. However, a white-led group of agitators is trying to reverse this decision and their rhetoric is filled with vile, dehumanizing, racist, and transphobic behavior. They managed to present a petition to speak at the December 20th meeting and we would like Indigenous folks and allies to join us in making a strong stand against white supremacy and to set a precedent that racist mascots will no longer be tolerated in Iowa.
This is follow up to previous events about Mason City schools, including an online forum December 12. See more here: Abolish Racist Mascots
Join us for an Indigenous-led forum discussing why mascots in Iowa are harmful and perpetuate white supremacy. Though Iowa has 27 racist “Indian” mascots still being used, we will spotlight the issue in Mason City where white supremacists have organized to protest the rightful retirement of the Mohawk mascot.
Following are graphics from the Great Plains Action Society
“The Des Moines Register identified 27 high schools with Indigenous-themed mascots from a list provided by the Iowa High School Athletic Association. That count does not include the Meskwaki Settlement School Warriors. The Sac and Fox Tribe’s list included elementary and middle schools as well”
The video below was recorded from last night’s online meeting about the Racist Rise to Ban Anti-Racist Books, Confronting white supremacy in the Johnston School District.
Of all the awful things that have been occurring over the last several years, banning books is the worst, so far, for me as a white person. At Scattergood Friends School we were taught to be lifelong learners. I not only enjoy reading, but that is how I learn about what is going on in the world. Learn about injustice and how others are working for justice.
But there is more to this for black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC). Rising authoritarianism, increasingly aggressive and militarized policing, voter suppression, and actions such as banning books are all efforts to perpetuate racism and white supremacy.
Education is one of the most important ways to call attention to racism and to help white people learn ways to call it out. Calls to ban books and ban teaching of “critical race theory” are meant to prevent learning about racial injustice.
As is often the case, Johnston Community School District (JCSD) has equity as one of its strategic goals. But students, parents, and staff feel more unsafe and targeted than ever before. Hostility and violence towards students, parents, and staff of color have been increasing at the district as made evident by the many recent attacks on equity.
Things were particularly bad at the last JCSD school board meeting discussion about banning “The Hate You Give” and “Diaries of a Part-Time Indian”. A white person said several racist or homophobic words from those books out loud. Children were present. There was no context for saying them out loud, and to be spoken by a white person.
White people need to support these efforts to stop banning books and other racial incidents. School boards across the country are being weaponized to promote racism.
One of the principles of justice work is to not add to the burden of those experiencing injustice. Online discussions like last nights are great ways for white people to learn. I encourage you, especially if you are white, to take advantage of these opportunities.
The Racist Rise to Ban Anti-Racist Books.
Parents, students, and allies will gather online this Wednesday, December 15, 2021, at 7 PM CST to highlight a recent incidence of hate speech used at a board meeting and the inaction by Johnston Community School district administration and school board. The meeting largely revolved around the recent attempt by a few Johnston parents to ban the books “The Hate You Give” and “Diaries of a Part-Time Indian”, both written by BIPOC folks, which address oppression and racism in the US. There has been a rise in attempts to ban anti-racist books since 2020 when Trump tried to enact a federal ban on critical race theory. The recent state of racism and discrimination in Johnston will be discussed highlighting recent incidences that propagate racism and discrimination in the district and throughout the community.
Though the Johnston Community School District (JCSD) has equity as one of its strategic goals, students, parents, and staff feel more unsafe and targeted than ever before. Hostility and violence towards students, parents, and staff of color have been increasing at the district as made evident by the many recent attacks on equity. JCSD released a statement saying the district is continuing “to partner with parents and students to create an inclusive environment where everyone in our community has access to a high-quality educational experience” but students, parents, and staff are saying this is simply not happening. Students, parents, staff, and community members called for the district to interrupt hate speech including racist and homophobic slurs used by a parent at a recent school board meeting asking for the policy when individuals share such words. The superintendent and school board members did not stop this from happening and cited instead of the policy on public participation and did not seek to disrupt or disallow these words to be used during a school board meeting.
This event is hosted by: Johnston Parents for Equity and Anti-Racism (JPEAR) is a collective of parents organizing the Johnston Community School District (JCSD) to respond to the needs for equity and anti-racism in our schools and community.
Great Plains Action Society works to resist colonial-capitalist institutions and white supremacy through Indigenous ideologies and practices. Our goal is to reclaim what has been stolen and oppressed to create a better world for us all. Iowa Coalition for Collective Change specializes in empowering organizations and marginalized communities through education, research, and advocacy.
First a reminder about today’s Indigenous-led forum discussing why mascots in Iowa are harmful and perpetuate white supremacy. Though Iowa has 27 racist “Indian” mascots still being used, they will spotlight the issue in Mason City where white supremacists have organized to protest the rightful retirement of the Mohawk mascot. https://landbackfriends.com/2021/12/11/abolish-racist-mascots/
My Mutual Aid mentor and friend Ronnie James has been working on the use of the team name of The Indianola Indians and the usage of Native imagery on school property and apparel. Knowing I live in Indianola, Ronnie asked me to take some photos related to this which I was glad to do. He wrote an excellent article about the Indianola school board meeting he attended in August published by the Great Plains Action Society that he is part of.
After initial discussion among the board, they voted on tabling the issue until after their Nov. 2021 election, where it will be brought back with the intention of an extensive process of public debate. During public comments, there was just one person who argued in favor of the name and imagery by claiming he spent a lot of time asking Natives in Oklahoma their opinion. Another commenter stated they needed more “facts”, while another said something similar but referred to Native “traits” as something they want all students to aspire to, but mentioned Natives in the past tense repeatedly.
When representatives of Great Plains Action Society were afforded time to speak, we brought a large packet of peer reviewed academic research demonstrating the harm that Indigenous mascots and imagery has on Native youth, which we left with the board. We also addressed the board’s intention to table the item. We reminded them that putting this issue aside so as not to harm their chances at reelection and playing politics with it is an act of white supremacy as these actions put their comfort first at the expense of the peoples that it actually affects.
We also offered to begin dialogues with local and national Native orgs and individuals that were not trying to sell them something. In response to one of the board’s reasons to table the item, they claimed that Covid was their highest priority. The room was crammed with 20 or more people (with less than 5% wearing masks) and their school system has no mask mandate. If they were tackling this issue in good faith while getting the school back into pre-Covid shape, then now is a perfect time to act on changing the team name so that when/if we return to normal, the school can start on a good footing working to end white supremacy.
Great Plains Action Society believes some of the school board is acting in good faith, but that they still do not view the name and imagery change as a priority. Based on social media comments, the town itself has a split of those extremely hostile to change and those that support it. We will continue to work with the Board of Education and our relatives that live in the town to keep this in the forefront and finally change the team name.
Debate over the use of Native American-related mascots spans nationwide, with leaders of athletic programs from youth to professional sports grappling over their logos and team names. The Washington Football Team and the Cleveland Guardians, two professional teams that attracted national attention for their use of Indigenous-related mascots, decided in the past two years to remove Native American-related imagery and language from their branding.
Greetings Iowa school leaders, school board members, and community members: We, the undersigned Tribal Nations and local and national Native organizations, call upon you – the 66 K-12 schools in the state of Iowa with Native “themed” school mascots – to retire your mascots.
Meskwaki Nation Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa
The use of Native symbols and names has come to attention as pressure has come to change such names and symbols of national sports teams for example. Tomorrow’s discussion will be about the use of Mohawk in Mason City, Iowa.
The Mason City Community School District reached out to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and asked if the tribe would be open to a partnership and allow the use of imagery and name. The tribe said no and asked for the end of the usage of the “Mohawk” mascot and nickname. (Info from the Globe Gazette).
Last month, the Mason City School Board decided to end the use of the name “Mohawks,” at athletic events and on merchandise. Over the long term building signs and school décor will also be scrubbed of the name, as the district assesses costs related to rebranding.
Shortly after the decision was made, Mason City resident Tom Stalker created the “Mason City Mohawk Save the Name” Facebook page. The group has shared their frustrations about the decision and was given time to speak at Monday night’s meeting.
There is an excellent opportunity to learn more about this tomorrow, 12/12/2021 at 5:00 pm Central time, when my friends of the Great Plains Action Society (GPAS) host a discussion of why these mascots are harmful and perpetuate white supremacy.
Join us for an Indigenous-led forum discussing why mascots in Iowa are harmful and perpetuate white supremacy. Though Iowa has 27 racist “Indian” mascots still being used, we will spotlight the issue in Mason City where white supremacists have organized to protest the rightful retirement of the Mohawk mascot. We will be joined by:
– John Kane, Kahnawake Mohawk, Let’s Talk Native With John Kane Radio Show
– Rev. Le Anne Clausen de Montes, Mason City resident and the Cofounder of the Iowa Change the Name Coalition
– Salvi Montes-Clausen, Latino/Nahuatl and Youth Cofounder of the Iowa Change the Name Coalition
– Edouardo Zendejas, Omaha Tribe of NE and author of Mascots That Honor Indians
– Keely Driscoll, Meskwaki Nation and Youth Organizer with Great Plains Action Society
– Trisha Etringer, Winnebago Tribe of NE and Operations Director with Great Plains Action Society
– Jessica Engelking, Anishinaabe and Education Director with Great Plains Action Society
– Alexandrea Walker, Winnebago Tribe of NE and Youth Organizer with Great Plains Action Society
-Sikowis Nobiss, George Gordon First Nation and Executive Director of Great Plains Action Society
Following are graphics from the Great Plains Action Society
“The Des Moines Register identified 27 high schools with Indigenous-themed mascots from a list provided by the Iowa High School Athletic Association. That count does not include the Meskwaki Settlement School Warriors. The Sac and Fox Tribe’s list included elementary and middle schools as well”
There is an ancient Lakota prophecy about a black snake that would slither across the land, desecrating the sacred sites and poisoning the water before destroying the Earth.
The following Includes remarks by my friends Sikowis Nobiss (Great Plains Action Society), Lee Tesdell, Ed Fallon (Bold Iowa).
Great Plains Action Society is firmly opposed to so-called carbon capture and sequestration or storage (CCS) projects such as the proposed Summit Midwest Carbon Express.
The reasons for our opposition are numerous, however, our greatest concern is that CCS only serves the interests of the fossil fuel industry. Carbon capture and sequestration is by design a way to prolong the usage of fossil fuels while reducing CO2 emissions. Amidst this climate emergency we must demand a reduction and phasing out of fossil fuels as a wider part of a just transition.
We are also concerned about intense water usage as drought and warmer temperatures are greatly affecting access to clean water. Fossil fuel companies have known that their products were contributing to climate change for over forty years and now they see CCS as a government bail out with many governmental subsidies providing just the type of perverse incentive for CCS operators to manipulate the system.
Additionally, there are the same concerns present with other pipeline projects in the area regarding degradation of the land, disturbance of sacred ceremonial and burial sites. CCS is greenwashing rather than a solution to the climate emergency that Iowans deserve, as Indigenous people we remain committed to the water, the land and the future generations of Iowans. #noco2pipelines #stopsummit
Summit Carbon Solutions (aka Bruce Rastetter – Iowa factory farm & ethanol baron) has now started the process for approval of a CO2 pipeline from Iowa to North Dakota, where the CO2 will be buried (or possibly used for fracking). This pipeline will impact at least 30 Iowa counties. Summit is likely to rely on eminent domain to secure the land easements needed to bury much of the pipeline.
Summit intends to obtain the CO2 from Iowa ethanol plants and other industrial polluters in Iowa, and then sell the ethanol to California and other states that have a low carbon fuel standard. The claim is that by sequestering the CO2 from the ethanol plants, the ethanol becomes low carbon fuel and in the process overall emissions are lowered (all while Rastetter and these industries siphon off a bunch of public money and investment that should go towards proven climate solutions).
In reality – Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) is just the latest money making scheme to greenwash fossil fuel pollution and allow dirty industries to continue business as usual. This Top 5 list from our friends at Food & Water Watch is a great resource:
Carbon Capture is an Expensive Failure
Carbon Capture is Energy Intensive
Carbon Capture Actually Increases Emissions
Storage Presents Significant Risks
Carbon Capture Trades Off with Other Critical Solutions (and delays a true clean energy future)
Not enough info you say? Even more reading on why CCS is a bad idea from F&WW here and from Greenpeace here.
Beyond the economics, corporate control, climate/environmental and land use issues is there a human cost or risk from this pipeline?
Glad you asked! A recent CO2 pipeline break in Mississippi led to mass poisoning of one community and is still under investigation:
CCS schemes only serve to prop up polluting industries and pad the profits of fossil fuel profiteers by siphoning off public money on expensive “technology” that doesn’t reduce carbon emissions. We call on Bruce Rastetter and Summit Carbon to drop their polluting pipeline plans. We call on the Iowa Utilities Board to deny Summit Carbon’s hazardous liquid pipeline permit application. And we call on Iowa’s elected officials and decision makers to take a stand against this pipeline and to invest in a 100% renewable future that benefits 100% of the people.
Iowans have a right to clean air, water, and a habitable environment. To get there we need a just transition to a 100% carbon-free energy system. We want our public tax dollars invested into proven and cost-effective technologies needed to get there such as wind and solar. We demand that you reject unproven, costly, and dangerous projects like the Summit Carbon Solutions CO2 pipeline. Which would ultimately prop up fossil fuel extraction and destructive industrial agriculture practices.
We have little time left for the mass mobilization of resources needed to transition to carbon-free energy and the conservation practices that are proven to reduce emissions and sequester carbon. We are calling on you to rule with the majority of Iowans rather than wealthy campaign contributors like Bruce Rastetter and reject the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline.
Critics of a proposed $4.5 billion pipeline project say Iowa Utilities Board members appointed by former Gov. Terry Branstad have a conflict of interest and should recuse themselves from decisions about the project, which has hired Branstad as an adviser.
Summit Carbon Solutions wants to build a pipeline, called the Midwest Carbon Express, across 30 counties in Iowa to capture carbon emissions from ethanol and other industrial agriculture plants, compress it into a liquid and transport it to North Dakota for permanent sequestration a mile underground.
At a Sept. 13 meeting in Ames, Lee Tesdell, a central Iowa farmland owner, asked whether any of the Iowa Utilities Board members were appointed by Branstad and whether they would recuse themselves from making a decision about whether Summit should receive a permit to build nearly 710 miles of pipeline across Iowa.
TesdelI, whose central Iowa farm is not in the pipeline’s pathway, said he believes board members Branstad appointed have a conflict of interest. “Either Branstad should resign from the Midwest Carbon Express team or they (board members) should recuse themselves,” he said.
Ed Fallon, a former state representative and vocal Dakota Access pipeline opponent, said he believes the Iowa Utilities Board members should recuse themselves. “Given their high-salary positions, they’re beholden to Branstad, and that gives the impression that they would be inclined to vote his way,” Fallon said.
“I, Chief Arvol Looking Horse, of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Nations, ask you to understand an Indigenous perspective on what has happened in America, what we call “Turtle Island.” My words seek to unite the global community through a message from our sacred ceremonies to unite spiritually, each in our own ways of beliefs in the Creator.”
“There needs to be a fast move toward other forms of energy that are safe for all nations upon Mother Earth. We need to understand the types of minds that are continuing to destroy the spirit of our whole global community. Unless we do this, the powers of destruction will overwhelm us.”
“To us, as caretakers of the heart of Mother Earth, falls the responsibility of turning back the powers of destruction. You yourself are the one who must decide.”
“You alone – and only you – can make this crucial choice, to walk in honor or to dishonor your relatives. On your decision depends the fate of the entire World.”
Important Message from Keeper of Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe. I, Chief Arvol Looking Horse ask you to understand an Indigenous perspective on what has happened in America, what we call “Turtle Island.” by CHIEF ARVOL LOOKING HORSE, Indian Country Today, Sept 7, 2017
I was going to say more non-native people are becoming aware of the true history about Thanksgiving, but I’m not sure that is true.
Some ways to educate ourselves and others can be found in the following resources from my friends at the Great Plains Action Society One way to begin conversations is to point out that many Indigenous peoples refer to the holiday as Truthsgiving. “The truth will not be whitewashed”.
It is said we should avoid talking about religion and politics at family gatherings to avoid conflicts. But avoiding these topics continues the whitewashed versions of relations between non-native and Indigenous Peoples.
Besides being the right thing to do, it is becoming increasingly clear that politics in the land called the United States is breaking/has broken down. The capitalist economy is showing signs of collapse. Capitalism puts a price on everything, including natural resources.
Increasingly frequent and severe storms and environmental chaos mean, among other things, that we need a different approach. Which is why I looked for opportunities to get to know and learn from Indigenous peoples. This is a diagram I’ve been working on for over a year to try to give an overview of relationships among White, Black, and Indigenous cultures and systems.
When I asked my friends what I could do that would be most helpful, they told me to learn about the concepts of #LANDBACK and share what I learn. Several months ago, I built a new website, landbackfriends.com, that discusses these issues from my perspective as a White person.
Following are the resources referred to in Step 1 above, Educate Yourself.
Truthsgiving, Day of Mourning, Anti-Thanksgiving Resources
Last week, for the third time in as many years, heavily militarized RCMP invaded Wet’suwet’en territories to remove land defenders so construction on the Coastal GasLink pipeline could continue. Following is some of the latest news.
Corey Jayohcee Jocko and Jocey Alec (Chief Woos' daughter) have been released. They described their experience as being tortured, kidnapped, and held hostage. The home they were living in has been bulldozed and burned down by Coastal GasLink. #ShutDownCanada#WetsuwetenStrongpic.twitter.com/vckFBiO940
Uni’stot’en Matriarch Freda Huson speaks from the healing center she set up on her Wet’suewet’en territories in the path of the CGL pipeline. “They’re getting exposed. It’s all going to come to light” on CGL/Police/Governments corruption, violating Indigenous rights. pic.twitter.com/hRFaIBfLQt
This time ‘round what’s more frustrating is they want to hide the corruption that they’ve been doing. They got exposed the last time, so heaven forbid they get exposed for their violence and using militarized police so now they’re holding media people in jail and that is so wrong. It’s like there’s no freedom of the press anymore and it almost doesn’t even feel like we’re in so-called Canada anymore when you don’t even have freedom of the press. And who knows if they’re keeping their footage and deleting footage to make sure they cover up the corruptness that is happening, which I feel it is so wrong. And people need to know. There’s corruptness all around and all I know is it’s not going to last. It will not last and they will be their own demise because you can’t keep going on with evil and corruptness. It’s going to find you out, it’s going to be exposed into the light. My family’s a praying family and we’ve been praying for this project and their corruptness. It’s going to all be found out and I don’t believe their project’s gonna go.
Natural disasters happening down south and they should have been down there helping the poor people in all the floods and yet they send, what, 60-80 cops up here to arrest peaceful protestors when people are struggling because of climate change which this project has been contributing to it. And they’re here protecting industry because all their pensions are invested in it and the federal government has to pay back every one of those investors because of the Harper deal that he made with investors. If they invest money here, if it doesn’t go, they have to pay them back that money. So that’s why the Trudeau government is backing these projects and amending and changing all the legislation so that these projects go through. So, eventually they’ll be found out.
I was not aware of the epidemic of violence against, and the disappearance and/or murder of Indigenous women prior to getting to know some Indigenous people. I first became aware when I rode in a van, organized by Ed Fallon, to Minneapolis February 3, 2018, the day before the Super Bowl was played there. Minneapolis is the US Bank headquarters, and the Super Bowl was played in the US Bank stadium. US Bank has been involved in funding many fossil fuel projects. We gathered outside the bank offices with signs to call attention to that.
Heading for Minneapolis, Feb 4, 2018.
I was surprised when the speakers all talked about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), sometimes expressed as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR). I was just learning much of this violence came from the man camps, the living quarters for those work on the construction of fossil fuel pipelines.
Those who spoke, Sikowis Nobiss, Donnielle Wanatee, Kathy Byrnes and Ed Fallon, would become friends of mine. In these photos you can see the Missing and Murdered Women artwork held by several of the speakers.
Sikowis Nobiss
Sikowis Nobiss
Ed Fallon
Kathy Byrnes
Donnielle Wanatee
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
That fall (2018) I participated on the First Nation-Farmer Climate Unity March. My friend Foxy Onefeather carried the MMIW sign during our eight-day, ninety-four mile walk along the path of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Many stories, photos and videos of that march can be found here: https://firstnationfarmer.com/
Foxy Onefeather
One goal of the First Nation-Farmer Climate Unity March was to create friendships and the beginning of trust among the marchers, so we could work together on things of common concern. One of the first things several of us did together was meet with Senator Chuck Grassley’s staff in Des Moines.
There were two pieces of legislation in Congress related to Native Affairs. One was the SURVIVE Act which is intended to get more funds from the Victims of Crime Act to Native communities. The second is Savanna’s Act, which allows tribal police forces to have jurisdiction over non-Native people on Native land, access to criminal databases and expanded collection of crime statistics. Senator Grassley was involved in the passage of the Victims of Crime Act.
Jeff, Fox, Shazi, Sikowis, Shari and Sid
This Monday a report was released saying the federal response to missing and murdered Indigenous women needs improvement.
U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, called on the Biden administration to do more to address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) after the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report finding that the government has not done enough to respond to the crisis.
Sen. Cortez Masto has led efforts in the Senate to protect Indigenous women and girls, and she asked that the GAO put together this report to investigate the federal response to violence facing Native women across the country.
Because of the upsurge in COVID cases in Iowa, my friends at the Great Plains Action Society decided not to hold a public gathering this Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Instead, they participated in a guerrilla street art action to push back at the recognition of Columbus Day in Iowa and the nation.
Celebrate Indigenous People’s Day by Abolishing Columbus Day
To celebrate Indigenous People’s Day, we participated in a guerrilla street art action to push back at the recognition of Columbus Day in Iowa and the nation. The art is inspired by the Overpass Light Brigade and utilizes LED lights to spell out movement messaging tackling various issues. The art build and action was led by Qırımlı Frontlines Organizer, Mahmud Fitil. Ronnie James provided on-the-ground support, gathering together an amazing crew of local radicals to help hold the art. The photos were taken by Karla Conrad, a movement photographer well known for her work in Iowa. The following piece to accompany the photos is written by Sikowis Nobiss.
Indigenous People’s day is a time to celebrate Indigenous cultures, practices, and success but it is also a powerful political statement about and against whitewashed history as well as colonial violence. It is observed on the same date as Columbus Day with the goal of ending the celebration of a man that did not, in fact, discover America who was also a rapist, a murderer, and slave trader. Unfortunately, the bulk of declarations and proclamations recognizing Indigenous Peoples in cities, counties, and states across the country do not abolish Columbus Day. For instance, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation last Friday to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which is the first time a sitting US president has commemorated this holiday, but Columbus Day is still a national holiday, which means the nation state still celebrates and upholds colonization, genocide, and slavery. Most federal employees will receive the day off to observe Columbus Day, which is still endorsed by Congress.
The state of Iowa needs to completely abolish Columbus Day and statues uplifting white supremacy that perpetuate hate and whitewash our history. Hate speech alone is not considered a hate crime under Iowa code, however, the state itself should be held to a different standard and barred from entering or perpetuating behavior that undermines a person’s mental well-being, safety, and sense of belonging in this state. Furthermore, the Iowa constitution already protects against discrimination based on religion, sexual orientation, age, race, national origin, and disability. Since Columbus Day and monuments to white supremacy celebrate genocide, land theft, and enslavement, they perpetuate and legitimize discrimination as they make many BIPOC residents unwelcome in public spaces that trigger very real historical traumas.
Sikowis Nobiss , Great Plains Action Society
Photo by Karla Conrad
The following is about Indigenous Peoples’ Day last year. My friend Ronnie James appears below, with the bust of Christopher Columbus (and he’s mentioned above for his role in the guerrilla street art.)
Remarks at Indigenous Peoples Day 2020 in Des Moines, Iowa State Capitol grounds, October 12, 2020, by Alejandro Murguia-Ortiz, American Friends Service Committee
Iowa Governor: Abolish Monuments, Names, and Holidays to White Supremacy in Iowa – Sign the Petition! https://t.co/OoEkVrManw via @Change
LANDBACK Friends 