A few days after videos of dogs attacking protesters at a North Dakota site of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) went viral in early September, Boulder County organic farmers Rod Brueske and Mark Guttridge were talking at Guttridge’s Ollin Farms in Longmont.
“The indignation of [the dog attacks] just blew me away, that this was going down,” Brueske says. “I just had that feeling like we have do something to help these people, these proud Americans standing up for their land and their rights.”
He found a partner in Guttridge, who also wanted to figure out a way to show solidarity with the Native American and environmental protesters opposing the 1,172-mile pipeline, specifically the ones near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation where the pipeline is set to travel beneath the Missouri River and Lake Oahe. But as a father of four with a very packed schedule — a full-time environmental engineer who runs Ollin Farms and sits on the board of Boulder County Farmers Market — Guttridge knew he couldn’t go up to North Dakota and camp out. But the two farmers realized there was something they could do; they could send fresh produce from Boulder County farms to feed the protesters.
At the prompting of his wife, Brueske decided he could make a food delivery in October and Guttridge’s wife Kena started telling people at the Ollin Farmstand. Donations came pouring in and Brueske and Guttridge enlisted the help of about 10 farmers at the Union Station farmers’ market in Denver, who donated about 800 pounds of fresh produce.
Brueske took his first trip up to Standing Rock on Saturday, Oct. 21, the same day 83 protesters were arrested while trying to prevent pipeline construction. To avoid police checkpoints surrounding the main Oceti Sakowin camp that day, Brueske brought the food donation to the the Sacred Stone camp on the other side of the Cannonball River.
“The food was well received, a couple of the Native American leaders were really appreciative that we brought food,” Brueske says.
“When he came back he was like, ‘There’s such a big need and I really want to keep doing this over the winter,’” Guttridge remembers.
So the pair worked with Sustainable Resilient Longmont to set up a donation booth at both the Boulder and Longmont farmers’ markets. This not only took some of the burden off local farmers, but it gave the entire community a chance to contribute to the efforts taking place in North Dakota. During two weeks of markets at the beginning of November, people donated more than $5,000 dollars.
“It was super humbling to see how many people felt the spiritual connection and the need to show solidarity,” Guttridge says. “And they were so thankful to have the opportunity to help.”
Separately, around the same time, University of Colorado senior Jon McDonnell started a GoFundMe campaign after hearing about the lack of fresh, healthy food from friends who had already been at the camps. In a matter of a few days, he raised $700 and more than $1,400 to date. Then one day, while at the Boulder Farmers Market, he heard about what Brueske and Guttridge were doing and the trio decided to join forces.
Recruiting a few other drivers, including Chris Lamson who had collected 15 negative-30-degree sleeping bags through a separate GoFundMe campaign, Brueske and McDonnell started making plans for the next trip just before Thanksgiving.
On Nov. 20 they loaded four trucks with 2,500 pounds of carrots, radishes, potatoes, turnips, onions, winter squash and apples, among other produce, insulating it all from the freezing weather with the donated sleeping bags.
This time the team arrived just a few hours before protesters clashed with police on Backwater Bridge on Highway 1806. After dropping off the donated food and supplies at the Red Warrior Camp and other kitchens in the main Oceti Sakowin camp, they took up positions at the back of the bridge, unable to fully comprehend what they were witnessing. They watched as law enforcement used water cannons, tear gas and concussion grenades in subfreezing temperatures to deter roughly 400 protesters from removing a road block. It turned out to be the bloodiest, most violent day of protest to date, with nearly 200 people injured.
“That night on the bridge really galvanized my resolve being there to help these people,” Brueske says. “It just blew my mind.”
When they returned to Boulder, the farmers began collecting the next round of storage crops for delivery as well as frozen meats from local ranchers after realizing there’s a severe lack of protein at the camps. Like many people, they weren’t sure what was going to happen after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Dec. 5 announcement that it won’t approve the necessary easement to drill under the Missouri River at this time. But while Standing Rock Sioux tribal chairman Dave Archambault II has asked non-Native Americans to leave the camps, many Native Americans from tribes across the country still remain, committed to preventing the pipeline from ever being completed. Still other activists are stranded at the nearby Cannon Ball community center, without the resources to return home as North Dakota settles in for winter.
On Sunday, Dec. 17, McDonnell and Lamson delivered another 1,500 pounds of storage crops and frozen meats to the area. This time, they protected the produce from freezing temperatures with a custom-made insulated box made by Longmont carpenter Rick Fitzgerald.
They dropped off part of the donated food at the community center to help the 2-300 people still camped out there, McDonnell says. The rest they left at the medic kitchen in the Oceti Sakowin camp, where a semi-permanent insulated shed can house the produce without fear of it freezing and the other kitchens throughout the camp will have access to it.
“Spirits are always really high,” McDonnell says. “I think people really want to stay there because they want people to be aware of the fact that this is still going on, this is still an issue.”
To date, produce and meat from Ollin Farms, LaJoyia Farm, Monroe Organic Farm, Aspen Moon Farm, Red Wagon Farm, Ela Family Farm, Natural Homestead Beef, Jodar Farm, Corner Post Meats and a few other local non-commercial farms has been delivered to Standing Rock.
But this won’t be the last delivery, Guttridge, McDonnell and Brueske say.
“As long as there is a need and the public wants to support it, we’ll continue to spend our time organizing it and making deliveries,” Guttridge says.
Donations can still be made through Sustainable Resilience Longmont to help fund their efforts.
“It’s an important time in our history. It’s the most important thing that we can be working on,” Guttridge says. “And it’s a win-win for everybody. The community can support the farmers and good food goes to where it’s needed to most.”
