Iowa Pipeline Fighters Head to Super Bowl to Pressure US Bank to Divest

Dear Friends,

Go Tom Brady! Yeah, I just had to get that out of the way. Across the country, people are turning up the heat on politicians and corporations intent on destroying our water, land, and planet for satiate their lust for power and money.

US Bank is one of them, and it’ll be in the spotlight on Super Sunday when the Pats and Eagles tangle at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

The day before the Super Bowl — let’s call it Super Saturday — pipeline fighters, Native leaders, and property-rights defenders from across the upper Midwest will converge in Minneapolis to turn up the heat on US Bank. I’ll be there and, with cold weather forecast, will be wearing two hats. See photo on right. And see the release below for details about the action.

And “Go Tom Brady!” (Or did I already say that?) — Ed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 1, 2018 — 11:00 a.m. CST

Contact: Christine Nobiss at (319) 331-8034 or cnobiss@gmail.com
Contact: Ed Fallon at (515) 238-6404 or ed@boldiowa.com

Iowa Pipeline Fighters Head to Super Bowl to Pressure US Bank to Divest
High security, restrictions on freedom of speech, expected in Minneapolis

Bold Iowa and Indigenous Iowa will join a coalition of Native and non-Native organizations from across the upper Midwest this Saturday, February 3 at 12:30 at the headquarters of Minnesota 350.org at 2104 Stevens Ave in Minneapolis for a rally and action in advance of Sunday’s Super Bowl game at US Bank Stadium. Native communities, farmers, landowners, and environmentalists fighting Energy Transfer Partners and the Dakota Access Pipeline are pressuring US Bank to stop financing oil pipelines.

“If US Bank has a moral compass, this should be a no brainer,” said Bold Iowa director Ed Fallon. “US Bank is as complicit as Energy Transfer Partners for abusing eminent domain, trampling the rights of rural landowners, destroying farmers’ soil and crops, and threatening our water and climate. That can change. It needs to change, and we’re turning up the heat to make it happen. In Iowa, we’re educating people about the lawsuit filed by landowners and the Sierra Club. That case is expected to come before the Iowa Supreme Court this spring, and the ruling could well be historic.”

“US Bank is perpetuating the cycle of colonization that disenfranchises and oppresses those who are not ‘privileged’ enough to be part of middle and upper class American society,” said Christine Nobiss, founder of Indigenous Iowa. “US Bank funds the extraction industry and allows government-backed corporate conglomerates to move in to poor communities and create havoc. Not only does the extraction industry add to climate change and destroy local environments during construction, spills, and explosions but it also institutes ‘man-camps’ which bring added violence and sexual assault to local communities. As an Indigenous woman, I’ve seen and heard first hand what man-camps have done to our First Nation communities, and it is frightening. These camps are one of many institutions in society that contribute to the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, men, and children. This is on you, US Bank.”

Last year, Nation of Change published an informative article about the nuances in pipeline infrastructure financing. That article also contains links to the contracts between Energy Transfer Partners, US Bank, and other financial institutions providing capital to allow the Dakota Access and other pipelines to be built.

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 our environment while simultaneously promoting the development and implementation of renewable energy. Indigenous Iowa’s website is www.indigenousiowa.org.

Bold Iowa is an independent non-profit organization that addresses the climate crisis, opposes the misuse of eminent domain to expand fossil-fuel infrastructure and other private purposes, promotes individual and entrepreneurial efforts in renewable energy and energy conservation, and works to build a broad, urban/rural coalition. The organization’s website is www.boldiowa.com.

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