First Nation-Farmer Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, August 28, 2:00 p.m. 

Contact: Jeff Kisling, jakislin@outlook.com or (765) 631-8197

Christine Nobiss, (319) 499-8039 or cnobiss@gmail.com

Ed Fallon, Bold Iowa, (515) 238-6404 or ed@boldiowa.com  

Indianola man to join 94-mile march against Dakota Access Pipeline

March unites Indigenous people, farmers, others in support of precedent-setting lawsuit

In an attempt to stop the flow of oil through the Dakota Access Pipeline in Iowa, Jeff Kisling of Indianola, will be one of nearly 50 Iowans and friends of Iowa marching from Des Moines to Fort Dodge, September 1-8, to bring awareness to the landowner/Sierra Club lawsuit scheduled to be heard by the Iowa Supreme Court on September 12.

The 90-mile First Nation – Farmer Climate Unity March, organized by Bold Iowa and Indigenous Iowa, unites Native people, farmers, environmentalists and other concerned individuals from a variety of backgrounds to highlight the historical and far-reaching implications of the lawsuit. 

The lawsuit, brought by nine landowners and the Iowa Sierra Club, alleges the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) illegally granted eminent domain to install the Dakota Access Pipeline, which carries up to 500,000 barrels per day of toxic crude oil through the state.

“I’m marching because eminent domain was not used as intended and forced this pipeline through farms of Iowans who did not want it,” said Kisling. “And it is important to keep fossil fuel in the ground if we are going to have a chance of protecting our environment, so the pipeline isn’t needed.”

The March kicks off Saturday, September 1, at 9:00 a.m. with a press conference at the IUB’s office at 1375 E. Court Ave, in Des Moines. With overnight stops in Ankeny, Huxley, Ames, Boone, Pilot Mound, Dayton, and Otho, the March will finish in Fort Dodge on Saturday, September 8, with a rally and celebration at City Square Park, 424 Central Ave, at 1:30 p.m.

The March will be a self-contained community, with participants camping on farms or in parks each night. The March has its own “bathroom trailer,” complete with environmentally-friendly commodes and solar showers. Marchers will use a solar collector for much of their power needs. The “Veggie Thumper” bus will provide food, much of it purchased from Red Earth Farms at the Meskwaki settlement. Each evening, there will be a community dialogue facilitated by a Native American leader and an Iowa farmer.

Indigenous Iowa was founded by Christine Nobiss, Plains Cree-Salteaux from the Gordon First Nation. She is a decolonizer and also works with Seeding Sovereignty. One of the main goals of Indigenous Iowa is to raise awareness about the devastating effects that oil, gas, and coal have on the environment, particularly on Indigenous lands where government-backed corporate conglomerates practice predatory economics and exploit communities. Indigenous Iowa promotes the development and implementation of renewable energy through the worldview of Indigenous ideologies.

Bold Iowa builds rural-urban coalitions to fight climate change, prevent the abuse of eminent domain, promote non-industrial renewable energy, and protect Iowa’s soil, air and water.