Tokata Iron Eyes

Tokata Iron Eyes[1][2] is an activist and member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.

Tokata Iron Eyes
Iron Eyes at a climate forum at the Lakota People’s Law Project in 2019
Born2004
NationalityStanding Rock Sioux, American
Alma materBard College at Simon's Rock
Known forenvironmental activism
RelativesChase Iron Eyes (father)

She was a youth leader of "Rezpect Our Water", a campaign against the proposed route of the Dakota Access Pipeline.[3] The group gained media attention in 2016 after a campaign video featuring Iron Eyes went viral.

In Sept. 2019, Iron Eyes met youth climate activist Greta Thunberg at George Washington University. Iron Eyes invited Thunberg to her homelands, and they held multiple rallies together in North Dakota and South Dakota in Oct. 2019.[1][4]

Tokata Iron Eyes is the daughter of Chase Iron Eyes, an activist, attorney, and politician, and Dr. Sara Jumping Eagle, a pediatrician and environmental activist.[5]

She is also a singer and songwriter,[6] and attends Bard College at Simon’s Rock.[7]

Activism

Iron Eyes began her activism at age 9, when she testified against a uranium mine in the Black Hills.[5] At age 12, she spoke in a viral video advocating for action against the Dakota Access Pipeline, which later sparked the social media campaign, "Rezpect Our Water."[5]

After she met Greta Thunberg in September 2019, Iron Eyes and Thunberg hosted a series of rallies about climate change and the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline in Oct. 2019 — including at the Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Reservation in S.D., where Iron Eyes was a student; at the Youth Climate Activism Panel in Rapid City, South Dakota; and at Standing Rock High School in Fort Yates, N.D.[1]

Iron Eyes also served on the board of a new sustainable energy group called Indigenized Energy.[1]

Awards and Recognition

In January 2020, Iron Eyes was featured on Disney+ in an episode of Marvel's Hero Project as "Thrilling Tokata."[8] In May 2020, she was named one of the Ms. Foundation’s 2020 Women of Vision, and she received the Peggy C. Charren Free to Be You and Me Award.[5]

References
  1. Nausch, Natasha (October 7, 2019). "Who is Tokata Iron Eyes and why did Greta Thunberg come to the Dakotas to see her?". Grand Forks Herald. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  2. Fowkes, Whitney (October 7, 2019). "Who is Tokata Iron Eyes?". KELOLAND.com. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  3. Petronzio, Matt (December 8, 2016). "How young Native Americans built and sustained the #NoDAPL movement". Mashable. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  4. "Greta Thunberg and Tokata Iron Eyes on the Climate Crisis - Let's Green California". lakotalaw.org. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  5. Manus, Tanya (May 19, 2020). "Ms. Foundation honors Tokata Iron Eyes". Rapid City Journal Media Group. Retrieved 2021-04-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. "Tokata Iron Eyes". Earth Guardians. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  7. Thomas, Tess (November 18, 2020). "Tokata Iron Eyes on why the climate movement needs to listen to Indigenous voices — Assembly | Malala Fund". Assembly. Retrieved 2021-04-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. "Women of Marvel Talks Empowering Indigenous Youth with Tokata Iron Eyes". Marvel Entertainment. January 16, 2020. Retrieved 2021-04-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)


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