Vision: An Indigenous-Led, Matriarchal, Regenerative Community Hub

On October 16, 2025, Great Plains Action Society (GPAS) purchased and liberated 1.05 acres in Iowa City — seven adjoining properties in a historically commercial district now designated by the City for community-driven development. This is not just land acquisition. It is Land Back. It is ReMatriation. It is Indigenous Futurism made real.

Our vision is to build a sustainable micro-community rooted in Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and matriarchal governance, rejecting colonial capitalism in favor of an economy built on compassion and collective liberation.

This hub is a living laboratory for justice — where environmental restoration meets economic reimagining, where healing justice centers BIPOC and 2SLGBTQ+ communities, and where first food farming becomes an act of cultural resurgence. We are not here to fix the system — we are here to replace it.

Location & Alignment with City Vision

Located within the Iowa City Riverfront Crossings Master Plan, our site sits adjacent to downtown, the Iowa River, major employers, public transit, and regional trails — perfectly positioned to catalyze equitable, resilient development. The city is thrilled that we are building our hub in this part of Iowa City, and we are building a great partnership with them.

Our project aligns with the City's goals:

Mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented design
Green infrastructure & resilient riverfront parks
Sustainable building practices
Adaptive reuse of existing structures
Promotion of artistic, creative, and community-centered uses

Hub Components: An Ecosystem of Resistance & Renewal

1. Hub Center (810 Maiden Lane)

This is where culture, education, and resistance converge.

A repurposed industrial steel building — once home to rental equipment, glass manufacturing, and scooters — now becomes the heart of the community:

Multi-purpose gathering space
Industrial teaching kitchen for First Foods programming
Art studio + gallery space
Offices + storage
Educational & training classrooms
Partnerships with displaced Indigenous communities
Mutual aid network coordination
Community organizing center

2. Green Parking Lot + Living Roof (804 Maiden Lane)

Even a parking lot can be innovative.

Required by zoning, this lot will become a model of ecological innovation:

Demolish dilapidated mechanic shop
Install permeable, green parking with solar-ready canopy
Propose living roof (with MIG's Native Nation Building Studio)
Remove invasive species, restore native species around and in lot

3. Urban Farm & ReMatriated Landscapes (815 Gilbert Court)

Land can be healed and heal us in return.

A brownfield transformed into a regenerative cultural landscape:

Grow Ioway First Foods + medicines (in partnership with Ioway Tribe)
Create edible prairies, living walls, pollinator habitats
Job training in land stewardship, first food farming, cooking, education
All food and medicine are for our mutual aid programs

4. Administrative Offices (416 E Benton St)

Behind every movement is infrastructure.

A renovated residential home serving as GPAS's operational backbone:

Central hub for day-to-day coordination
Point of contact for partners, volunteers, and fundraising
HR, finance, records management

5. Healing Justice House (418 E Benton St)

Healing is not a luxury — it's a prerequisite for justice.

A residential space becoming a sanctuary for BIPOC healing:

Hosted by our BIPOC/2SLGBTQ Healing Collective (therapists and culture bearers)
Centered on holistic, community-based wellness
Challenges Western medical paradigms rooted in individualism and profit
Fosters collective liberation, resilience, and policy change

6. Entrepreneur Launch Pads + Mutual Aid Café/Art Gallery (824 Maiden Lane / 410 E Benton St)

Building a compassionate economy.

A historic coal distribution site reborn as an incubator for radical entrepreneurship:

Five rent-free launch pads for BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+ entrepreneurs
A beautiful frontwalks for markets and events and gathering
Mutual aid café offerings:
- Pay-what-you-can pricing
- Community fund for local justice organizations
- An art gallery
- Volunteer-for-coffee program
- Educational workshops on activism, organizing, mutual aid
- Inclusive, affirming space for all

Why Iowa? Why Now?

Iowa is the most biologically colonized state in the US:

#1 contributor to the Gulf Dead Zone
2nd highest cancer rate nationally
Rivers poisoned by industrial agribusiness

According to the USDA, "Of all privately held U.S. agricultural land, Whites account for 96% of owners, 97% of value, and 98% of acres." Our hub is a direct response — a reclamation of Indigenous land, knowledge, and power. We're proving that Indigenous land stewardship can heal ecosystems, rebuild economies, and restore power to the people.

ReMatriation: Beyond Conservation

ReMatriation is more than land back. ReMatriation = Reviving Indigenous worldviews + Matriarchal leadership + Land sovereignty. It's about:

Replacing extractive systems with regenerative ones
Centering women, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse leadership
Building economies based on compassion, not consumption
Returning land to Indigenous hands — not as charity, but as justice

We are at the precipice of collapse — and colonial capitalism is the engine. Our hub is the counter-engine: powered by community, guided by traditional ecological knowledge, and fueled by love.

Team & Expertise

GPAS is managed by Indigenous, non-binary, Queer, gay, cis, straight, and Two-Spirit folks with abundant knowledge in:

Land defense (including DAPL resistance) & Indigenous representation
First Foods farming, prairie restoration, tree planting
Community organizing across reservations and urban centers
Zoning, permitting, construction, and project management

Staff & Board:

88% Indigenous staff
100% Indigenous board
Advanced degrees or pursuing post-secondary education

Key Partners:

The City of Iowa City Climate Action Team – donating the consulting services of Empowered Solutions Collective, a Black women-led company, to help us with sustainability planning, project development, funding, and implementation.
MIG's Native Nation Building Studio – providing pro bono services to redesign our spaces and landscapes, bringing Indigenous professionals to the table
Dancing Rabbit Eco-Village – volunteer labor for renovations
The Possibility Alliance & Catholic Workers – volunteer labor for renovations
Honor Native Land Fund – financially supports the land ReMatriation and land reunion efforts of Indigenous-led projects.
Homes for My Peeps – Black-run non-profit nature-based home building with a focus on empowering BIPOC men with skill building

Finances & Progress

We've raised the down payment and the beginning of our renovation funds through years of grassroots organizing — but we still need $1,790,732 to fully realize this vision.

What we've already done:

Completed Phase 1 Environmental Assessment ($20k+)
Secured rezoning approval after 3 City Council meetings
Received pro bono design, engineering, and construction support
Begun renovation of Healing Justice House
Completed healing garden space and planted for the year
Created agreements with Ioway folks on seed use and blessing
Completed renovation of coal building to create art gallery
Updated work area and kitchen in main hub building
Repurposed houses into guest houses for volunteers until we renovate them
Recently become a member of the People's Solar Energy Fund for renewable retrofitting

Conclusion: A Blueprint for Liberation

This hub is more than bricks and mortar. It is a manifesto in action — a declaration that another world is possible, and it is being built here, now, led by Indigenous Peoples.

Our work is built on the following:

Protect & Restore Indigenous Cultural Heritage
Center TEK, matriarchal leadership, ceremony, and language.
Conserve & Enhance Biodiversity
ReMatriate prairies, grow First Foods, reduce carbon footprint.
Promote Sustainable Development
Geothermal, solar, green roofs, retrofits — every watt matters.
Preserve Historic & Cultural Significance
Honoring our Indigenous culture and ways of being to create a just future.
Foster Community Engagement & Education
Classrooms, kitchens, art spaces — tools for collective learning.
Support Healing Justice & Community Well-being
Historically trauma-informed, culturally grounded care for all.
Encourage Economic Vitality & Innovation
Launch pads, mutual aid café — building wealth that circulates, not extracts.

"ReMatriation is a call to reestablish Indigenous landscapes, bring back Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge and to give stolen power back to the feminine. In a world where unfettered patriarchal violence and greed has brought us to the precipice of a climate extinction, ReMatriation is the return of the matriarchy." — Sikowis Nobiss, ED of GPAS