Follow the “First Nations-Farmer Climate Unity March” Against DAPL in Iowa

Today is Day Three of the “First Nations-Farmer Climate Unity March” in Iowa, an event to highlight ongoing opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and promote dialogue.

If you want to follow along, one of the participants writes the blog “Quakers, social justice and revolution,” and is writing daily posts. Participants will march nearly 100 miles from Des Moines, arriving at Fort Dodge Sept. 8. The march was organized by the environmental advocacy groups Bold Iowa and Indigenous Iowa.

DAPL runs nearly 1,200 miles through North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois. The Des Moines Register wrote a good article on the march.

The marchers’ route will travel through four of the 18 counties where the pipeline runs in Iowa and the group will cross back and forth over the pipeline a number of times in three of those counties, {Bold Iowa leader Ed] Fallon said. The group plans to interact with landowners and hold nightly discussions.

Marches like this offer a great opportunity to build relationships and learn. The blog’s author offered the following reflection on Day Two of the march:

As happens during a march like this, you hear all kinds of stories from your new friends. Conversations seem to be going on the entire time we walk. I was very sad to hear a tragic story related to drones. I was given permission to share this. As I was walking with one of my new Native friends we talked about the drone that was flying overhead. I already knew he was a videographer, and I asked him if he had ever taken video with a drone. It turns out he has a great deal of experience with drones. When I asked what he used it for, he said to search for missing people. He had recently spent about half a year, I think he said, searching for his sister, who had disappeared. She was finally found in a river. There is a huge problem with disappearing and murdered Native women now.