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The Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative and the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights collaborated to hold a panel exploring environmental activism and the importance of being involved in community. 

The “Who Defends the Defenders” event was held in the Hubbard Law Building on April 10 with about 40 attendees.

Aaron Page, a UI adjunct instructor and moderator for the event, said the idea for the panel stemmed from the 10th anniversary of the Standing Rock protests, a series of demonstrations and encampments in the northern half of the U.S. that opposed the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in Native American communities.

“So 10 years out, we’re looking at it, and we initially started with thinking about, ‘How do we defend environmental defenders?’” Page said.

After having the idea for the panel, Page said he was able to get in contact with Tim Mentz Sr., the first certified tribal historic preservation officer in the U.S., a Dakota elder, and historian who was involved in the mobilization in the Standing Rock protests.

Page said after getting Mentz and then Liberian environmental and indigenous rights lawyer Alfred Brownell on board with the panel, it became a mix of academics and cultural storytelling.

The presentation began with Mentz recalling his role in the Standing Rock protests and the legal battles against Greenpeace, a global independent organization that uses peaceful protests to address environmental issues, which was ordered to pay $345 million in damages for the organization’s role in the protests.

Upon recounting the events of the protests from 10 years ago, Page shifted the conversation to address the water quality and high cancer rates in Iowa.

“Why is the world not drawn to our environmental crisis?” Page said. “It’s not like we saw it at Standing Rock, we are not making a camp, I’m not trying to make anyone feel bad, just trying to ask us to look deeper.”

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After reflecting on his time at the protests and the environmental protection lawyers he met, Mentz encouraged the students in the audience to reflect on their future decisions.

“What type of decision are you going to make on your purpose?” Mentz said. “How are you going to better this planet?”

Mentz said sometimes people need to think less analytically and instead view the realities of the environmental issues facing Iowa, the U.S., and the world.

Brownell explained to the audience the ways in which land is more than just a physical thing and how it can represent community, spirituality, religion, history, and culture.

He said the people of Iowa love the state, but not enough people are angry about the water quality. To change that, Brownell said it is important to educate people and have conversations regarding the water in Iowa because of its adverse effects on residents’ health.

“If the water is poison, a lot of us are in danger,” Brownell said.

To find a middle ground, Brownell emphasized the reality that everyone will be affected by poor water quality if people don’t advocate for change.

“Take advantage of your privilege,” Brownell said. “It is time to act.”

Jordan Barry, an Iowa City resident who attended the event, said the message of reevaluating one’s mentality toward nature is imperative to making noticeable change in the community.

He said young people, especially, should become more aware of where they live and the land they inhabit.

As someone who grew up in Iowa City, Barry reflected on his education at Iowa City West High School and said he and his classmates never learned about the environmental history of Iowa and how agriculture has adversely changed it.

“It is one of the most ecologically changed biomes on Earth due to agriculture,” Barry said. “Where we are now in terms of quality of water is abhorrent, and it needs to change.”

Editor’s note: Jordan Barry is a former employee of The Daily Iowan.