The Riverland Native Voter Project increases BIPOC political engagement in
Iowa and Nebraska through Indigenous leadership and a decolonial lens.
Riverland Native Voter Project
Demand Change During the First 100 Days of Office
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Riverland Native Voter Project Summary
Riverland Native Voter Project is Great Plains Action Society’s political engagement program that uplifts Indigenous ideologies to promote BIPOC perspectives on colonial-capitalism, the climate and white supremacy. Our goal is to increase BIPOC voter turnout in Iowa and Nebraska through culturally relevant campaigns and events that inspire involvement. We also strive to examine and discuss the many reasons why BIPOC folx do not want to vote or engage in this colonial system to better understand the distrust of a government that has disenfranchised our communities for hundreds of years.
Our platform is geared toward frontline efforts led by BIPOC folx who have long fought for their land and lives against colonial-capitalist greed. These movements have the ability to inspire political engagement, get the frontlines to the polls and pass the legislation that is fought for in BIPOC communities.
OUR GOTV PROJECTS
Disrupt. Vote. Disrupt. T-Shirts
We handed out hundreds of t-shirts at many of our voter information booth events and rallies we attended and organized.
PPE Voter Kits for In-Person Voting
We put together hundreds of kits and gave them away at our voter info booths. The kits contained a mask, sanitizer, boxed water, poncho, notebook, KIND bar, pen, pencil, stickers and an ACLU Iowa Voting Rights Pamphlet--all in a Great Plains Action Society drawstring backpack with the tag line, "Infiltrate the System. Vote."
Voter Information Booths
Our voter information booths were a regular feature at events we organized and attended in Sioux City, Des Moines and Iowa City. We had Iowa voting info, paper registration forms, a QR code for safe online registration, t-shirts, PPE voter kits and much more.
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Voting Issue Yard and Window Signs
Our yard and window signs on climate and racism were in yards and windows across Iowa City and Des Moines. #yourvotematters
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Events, Rallies, Online Forums, etc
We organized many political engagement events both online and at the frontlines to GOTV. We are particularly proud of our Power to the People online rally held just two days before the election, to get out the BIPOC vote across Iowa. Go to Youtube to check it out
Riverland Native Voter Project Zines
Riverland Native Voter zines offer voter education and encourage BIPOC voter registration.
History
Iowa is a strategic political state because it is host to the first contest of the presidential primaries. It’s why, when given the opportunity to encourage BIPOC voting in this state we saw a great opportunity to empower our people’s voice. However, we believe in abolishing border imperialism and so instead of focusing on the colonial settler imposed state of Iowa we decided to base our voting initiative on an Ioway made map that depicts their own history between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.
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Partners
We partnered with Vote Mob to amplify our efforts in BIPOC communities where voices are often left out of the conversation. With Vote Mob we have conducted interviews, published zines, provided voter guides, and organized registration events. Not to mention, some cool swag to offer as we approach the upcoming 2020 Presidential elections.
Riverland Native Voter Webinar Interview Series
A series of webinars and interviews focused on BIPOC voter engagement in Iowa, Nebraska and the midwest.
Riverland Native Voter Zine Issue #1
