Panelists discuss Standing Rock experiences

IOWA CITY - Native Americans stood up to answer the question 'Why is Standing Rock important?” for an audience in Iowa City on Monday night.

Indigenous Iowa, an environmental group based in Iowa City, hosted the public forum at the Iowa City Public Library to discuss the significance of the Dakota Access pipeline protests in North Dakota.

Native American groups, environmentalists and veterans, among others, have gathered in North Dakota to support the Standing Rock Sioux in their protest against the pipeline, which they fear will damage their sacred lands and pollute their drinking water.

The 10 panelists were members of the Meskwaki community near Tama, and others who have either traveled to the protest or who have worked to protect water. More than 50 people were on hand to hear the stories.

'I see native people proudly fighting for the land and being the stewards that they have always meant to be,” speaker Christine Nobiss said. 'They are proudly there doing the work that, frankly, everybody should be doing. And because of that, everybody did come and do it so now we have people of all nations there.”

Many of the speakers explained their beliefs about the environment and their role in protesting the pipeline, including Donnielle Wanatee. She said she escorted a group of young people who ran from North Dakota to Washington, D.C., to deliver a petition against the pipeline.

She said that as a Meskwaki mother, it was her responsibility to take care of all children, so she supported the youths who were protecting their water and who wanted their voices heard.

'It's about all of us together,” Wanatee said, adding that she recently returned to Iowa from Standing Rock for the ninth time.

Yolanda Pushetonequa, another panelist, said she spent about two weeks at Standing Rock. She said she was working during some of the more violent clashes between police and protesters. The front lines, she said, were shocking with loud noises, fire and screaming.

'It was like I left work and went literally into a war zone,” she said. 'It was scary, and it made me angry.”

Mary Bennett, the event organizer, said she felt the event was successful, and she hoped to plan more in the future.

After spending time at Standing Rock, she said her goal for the event was to spread the word about the protest. Hearing stories is more impactful than reading them on Facebook or in the media, she said.

'I have to become a messenger,” Bennett said. 'It's really the story of indigenous people.”

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