Nikolas Schiller

He was born in Saint Louis, Missouri.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR2007031301854.html|title=Here Be Dragons|accessdate=2007-03-14|publisher=Washington Post |author=David Montgomery|work=News |date=March 14, 2007}} In 1999 he moved to Washington, D.C. to study geography and computer science at the George Washington University. In 2004 he created a blog called [http://www.nikolasschiller.com/blog/ The Daily Render] and unlike many people at the time, chose to prevent search engines from accessing the content. Over the next 1000 days he developed and published a unique type of map composed of kaleidescopic aerial photographs. In the lead up to the second inauguration of George W. Bush, he developed one of the first on-line maps of the planned events to use aerial photography. In May 2007 he created a site for image macros of his maps in the vein of the popular LOLcats meme{{Cite web|url=http://laughingsquid.com/roll-your-own-lol-not-just-for-cats-anymore/|title=LOL Not Just For Cats Anymore|accessdate=2008-05-14|publisher=Laughing Squid|date=May 30, 2007|author=Scott Beale|work=News}} with his website [http://LOLmaps.com LOLMaps]. During the summer of 2007 he created website showing a simulated I.E.D. experience using a "drive" down a street constructed with Google Streetview.{{Cite web|url=http://www.streetviewIED.com/|title=Google StreetView I.E.D.|accessdate=2009-07-19|author=Nikolas Schiller}} At that time he also discovered that the aerial and satellite imagery of downtown Washington, D.C. was purposely out-dated for national security concerns.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/21/AR2007072101296.html|title=Google's View of D.C. Melds New and Sharp, Old and Fuzzy|accessdate=2007-07-22|publisher=Washington Post |author=Jenna Johnson|work=News |date=July 22, 2007}} In the fall of 2007 he designed the record cover for Thievery Corporation's 12" single Supreme Illusion (ESL110),{{Cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/release/1124845|title=Discogs: Thievery Corporation – Supreme Illusion ESL110|accessdate=2007-11-14|publisher=ESL Music|date=October 11, 2007|author=Thievery Corporation|work=Album Cover}} which features aerial photography of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In March 2008 he removed the robots exclusion protocols from his blog, which now allows his website to be accessed from all major search engines. In July 2008 he was assaulted on his doorstep by three men, but survived with only a bloody lip.{{Cite web|url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2008/07/25/our-morning-roundup-109/|title=Our Morning Roundup|accessdate=2009-02-14|publisher=Washington City Paper|date=July 25, 2008|author=Angela Valdez|work=News}} As a blogger, he has worked with writers at Wonkette{{Cite web|url=

http://wonkette.com/405438/come-to-wonkettes-patriotic-inaugural-ball-this-friday/|title=Come To Wonkette's Patriotic Inaugural Ball This Friday!|accessdate=2009-01-16|publisher=Wonkette|date=January 14, 2009|author=Jim Newell|work=Blog}} and the Huffington Post.{{Cite web|url=

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/03/vlogorrhea-with-jason-and_n_140581.html|title=Vlogorrhea, With Jason And Liz: Foreign Correspondents|accessdate=2009-02-26|publisher=Huffington Post|date=January 14, 2009|author=Jason Linkins|work=Blog}}{{Cite web|url=

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/04/previously-on-the-2008-el_n_140964.html|title=Previously, On The 2008 Election|accessdate=2008-11-26|publisher=Huffington Post|date=January 14, 2009|author=Jason Linkins|work=Blog}} He currently resides in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC.

File:DC Cannabis Campaign volunteer 2014.JPG

In February 2013, Schiller, along with Adam Eidinger and Alan Amsterdam, co-founded DC Marijuana Justice, colloquially known as DCMJ.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/mike-debonis/wp/2013/04/17/marijuana-policy-groups-kick-off-d-c-legalization-campaign-with-poll/|title=Marijuana policy groups kick off D.C. legalization campaign with poll|accessdate=2020-08-22|publisher=The Washington Post |author=Mike DeBonis|work=News |date=April 17, 2013}} the organization submitted their first draft to the District of Columbia Board of Elections. Due to the prohibition of the ballot initiatives from being able to appropriate funds to implement the proposed legislation, the first draft was withdrawn.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/proposed-dc-marijuana-initiative-to-be-reworked-to-address-ags-objections/2013/09/04/a47fd92e-1561-11e3-a2ec-b47e45e6f8ef_story.html|title=Proposed DC Marijuana Initiative To Be Reworked To Address AG's Objections|accessdate=2020-08-22|publisher=The Washington Post|author=Mike DeBonis|work=News|date=September 4, 2013}} The second version, which became Initiative 71, was submitted by Adam Eidinger to the DC Board of Elections in early 2014. Schiller served as the campaign's Director of Communications.{{cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/12/will-congress-let-washington-dc-legalize-weed/383276/|title=Will Congress Let D.C. Legalize Pot?|accessdate=2020-08-22|publisher=The Atlantic|author=Andrew Giambrone|work=News|date=December 1, 2014}}

Beginning in 2016 his work with DCMJ focused on advocacy related to the removal cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act. DCMJ organized an extremely popular{{cite news|url=https://www.facebook.com/NowThisWeed/videos/989482241134241/|title=Hundreds of people got high in front of The White House to protest the federal government's policies on weed|accessdate=2020-08-22|publisher=Now This Weed|author=Now This Weed|work=Viral Video|date=April 4, 2016}} smoke-in outside the White House,{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/marijuana-advocates-vow-to-get-arrested-smoking-this-51-foot-joint-outside-the-white-house/2016/03/30/67a46ac0-f5f5-11e5-8b23-538270a1ca31_story.html|title=Marijuana advocates vow to get arrested smoking pot outside the White House|accessdate=2020-08-22|publisher=The Washington Post|author=Aaron C. Davis|work=News|date=March 30, 2016}} which resulted in a meeting with White House staff.{{cite news|url=https://www.ibtimes.com/after-years-petitions-protests-marijuana-group-dcmj-says-its-meeting-obama-staffers-2356768|title=After Years Of Petitions And Protests, Marijuana Group DCMJ Says It's Meeting With Obama Staffers At The White House|accessdate=2020-08-22|publisher=International Business Times|author=Joel Warner|work=News|date=April 20, 2016}} Later that year he helped bring two 51' foot long inflatable joints to the Democratic National Convention to "make sure all candidates are for full legalization of cannabis."{{cite news|url=https://www.phillyvoice.com/pro-berniepro-cannabis-activists-march-down-broad-street/|title=Giant marijuana joints, Sanders supporters among Broad Street marchers on DNC Day 1|accessdate=2020-08-22|publisher=Philly Voice|author=Hayden Mitman|work=News|date=July 25, 2016}}

After the election of Donald Trump, in early 2017 DCMJ announced that it was going to distribute 4,200 joints at the inauguration in order to highlight that cannabis reform is a non-partisan issue.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/donald-trump-inauguration-january-20-free-joints-cannabis-a7509796.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220621/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/donald-trump-inauguration-january-20-free-joints-cannabis-a7509796.html |archive-date=June 21, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Cannabis activists to hand out thousands of free joints at Donald Trump's inauguration|accessdate=2020-08-22|publisher=The Independent|author=Kimberly Richards|work=News|date=January 4, 2017}} Calling it #Trump420,{{cite news|url=https://time.com/4638219/trump-inauguration-420-cannabis/|title=Inside the #Trump420 Movement|accessdate=2020-08-22|publisher=Time|author=Alexandra Genova|work=News|date=January 20, 2017}} over 5,500 joints were rolled prior to the inauguration.{{cite news|url=https://time.com/4638369/free-weed-marijuana-dcmj-inauguration/|title=D.C. Weed Group Has Rolled 5,500 Free Joints for the Inauguration|accessdate=2020-08-22|publisher=Time|author=Charlotte Alter|work=News|date=January 18, 2017}} By January 20, 2017, over 8,000 joints had been rolled.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/20/us/politics/free-marijuana-inauguration.html|title=Marijuana Group Passes Out Free Joints for Trump's Inauguration|accessdate=2020-08-22|publisher=New York Times|author=Jonah Engel Bromwich|work=News|date=January 18, 2017}} Schiller helped organize another joint giveaway near the U.S. Capitol, which ultimately resulted in numerous arrests.{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/20/politics/dcmj-marijuana-protest-arrests/index.html|title=DC pot activists arrested at 4/20 Capitol Hill protest|accessdate=2020-08-22|publisher=CNN|author=Eli Watkins|work=News|date=April 20, 2017}}{{cite news|url=https://wamu.org/story/17/04/20/seven-people-arrested-marijuana-giveaway-near-u-s-capitol/|title=Seven People Arrested At Marijuana Giveaway Near U.S. Capitol|accessdate=2020-08-22|publisher=WAMU|author=Martin Austermuhle|work=News|date=April 20, 2017}} The following day 6 of the activists had their charges dropped,{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/six-of-eight-wont-face-charges-after-giving-away-joints-near-us-capitol/2017/04/21/abc20378-26c0-11e7-b61e-316d7d23e7e6_story.html|title=Six of eight won't face charges after giving away joints near U.S. Capitol|accessdate=2020-08-22|publisher=The Washington Post|author=Justin Wm. Moyer and Keith L. Alexander|work=News|date=April 21, 2017}} which allowed DCMJ to come back to the Capitol four days later for a second smoke-in.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/six-of-eight-wont-face-charges-after-giving-away-joints-near-us-capitol/2017/04/21/abc20378-26c0-11e7-b61e-316d7d23e7e6_story.html|title=Marijuana Activists Plot 'Smoke-In' Following Capitol Hill Arrests|accessdate=2020-08-22|publisher=Rolling Stone|author=Ryan Reed|work=News|date=April 24, 2017}}

In October 2017, DCMJ began their campaign to raise awareness that individuals living in government subsidized housing risk eviction if they are found to have cannabis in their homes.{{cite news|url=https://dcist.com/story/17/10/31/pot-activists-are-handing-out-marij/|title=Marijuana Activists Are Handing Out Weed Outside HUD HQ Today|accessdate=2020-08-22|publisher=DCist|author=Rachel Sadon|work=News|date=October 31, 2017|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109043242/https://dcist.com/story/17/10/31/pot-activists-are-handing-out-marij/|url-status=live}}

Since the beginning of 2004 he has been involved with the DC statehood movement. He was served on the steering committee of the DC Statehood Green Party from 2005 to 2007 and was a delegate to the Green Party of the United States from 2006 to 2007. He has been a vocal critic of DC voting rights legislation that would give residents of the District of Columbia only one vote in the United States House of Representatives.{{Cite web|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/dec/04/20061204-114508-4261r/|title=Third of representation a start, but not enough|accessdate=2009-03-04|publisher=Washington Times|date=Dec 4, 2006|author=Adrienne Washington|work=News}} He has created a DC Flag

{{Cite web|url=http://dcist.com/2007/03/fight_for_votin.php|title=Fight for Voting Rights Goes Online|accessdate=2009-03-04|publisher=DCist.com|date=Mar 14, 2007|author=Martin Austermuhle|work=Blog|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218052854/http://dcist.com/2007/03/fight_for_votin.php|archivedate=February 18, 2010|df=mdy-all}} and a DC license plate to express the concept of taxation with one-third representation. He has been known to attend voting rights demonstrations{{Cite web|url=http://rollcall.com/issues/52_110/photo/18017-1.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201230309/http://rollcall.com/issues/52_110/photo/18017-1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-02-01|title=Roll Call Photo of the Week|accessdate=2008-12-14|publisher=Roll Call|date=Apr 18, 2007|author=Bill Clark|work=News}} wearing colonial outfits{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/27/AR2009012703300.html|title=Hoyer Says He Will Soon Bring Bill to House Floor|accessdate=2008-12-14|publisher=Washington Post|date=Jan 28, 2007|author=Mary Beth Sheridan|work=News}} to emphasize the fact that District resident are colonists who suffer from Taxation Without Representation.

In February 2009, under the motto “The United States government operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so should Metro,” he created a Facebook Group called "[http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=49428582147 Washington Metropolitan Area Residents for a 24 Hour Metro]" to help lobby for expanded operating hours.{{cite news|url=http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/capital-land/2011/01/24-hour-metro-one-rider-train-always-half-full|title=A 24-hour Metro? For one rider, the train is always half full|accessdate=2011-07-11|publisher=Examiner|date=January 5, 2011|author=Kytja Weir|work=News}}{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

In July 2009 he put up a sign on a street lamp outside of MTV's The Real World house in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, DC that said IN THE REAL WORLD ALL AMERICANS DESERVE FULL REPRESENTATION IN CONGRESS.{{cite news|url=

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/13/AR2009081304164_pf.html|title=The Real World in D.C.: When MTV Moves In, So Does Drama|accessdate=2009-08-16|publisher=Washington Post|date=Aug 16, 2009|author=Dan Zak|work=News}} In November 2009, while dressed in colonial attire, he was asked to take off his tricorn hat during a Congressional hearing on budget autonomy for the District of Columbia and was briefly detained by the U.S. Capitol Police, but was allowed to return to the hearing after promising to not put the hat back on.{{cite news|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2009/11/tricorn_trouble_for_dc_voting.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913060132/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2009/11/tricorn_trouble_for_dc_voting.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 13, 2012|title=Tricorn trouble for D.C. voting rights protester|accessdate=2009-11-19|publisher=The Washington Post|date=Nov 19, 2009|author1=Amy Argetsinger |author2=Roxanne Roberts |name-list-style=amp |work=News}}{{Cite web|url=http://wamu.org/news/09/11/18.php#30282|title=D.C. Leader Press Congress For More Autonomy|accessdate=2009-11-18|publisher=WAMU 88.5 American University Radio|date=Nov 18, 2009|author=Megan Hughes|work=News|format=radio|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091122155518/http://wamu.org/news/09/11/18.php#30282|archive-date=November 22, 2009|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} As an antiwar activist, he once arranged bricks on the rooftop of his home to spell out NO WAR{{cite book |last= Harmon |first= Katherine |title= The Map As Art: Contemporary Artists Explore Cartography |page= 16 |publisher= Princeton Architectural Press |date=September 23, 2009|isbn= 978-1-56898-762-0}} so that his message would show up on Google Maps.

In January 2010, he co-founded a non-profit organization called the DC Patients' Cooperative, which he hoped would become a licensed medical cannabis dispensary in the District of Columbia.{{cite news|url=http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/629/DC_city_council_approves_medical_marijuana|title=Feature: Mixed Reactions to DC City Council's Medical Marijuana Regulations|accessdate=2010-04-23|publisher=Drug War Chronicle|date=April 23, 2010|author=Drug War Chronicle|work=News}} In May 2010, after the Council of the District of Columbia passed legislation to regulate the medical cannabis program, he went on record advocating for more employment protections for qualified patients.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/us/05marijuana.html|title=Washington, D.C., Approves Medical Use of Marijuana|accessdate=2010-05-04|publisher=New York Times|date=May 5, 2010|author=Ashley Southall|work=News}} In February 2011, he helped organize a town hall meeting to educate the public on the medical cannabis program's regulations.{{cite news|url=http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/dc/town-hall-meeting-held-to-explain-rules-and-regulations-of-dcs-medical-marijuana-program-021011|title=Town Hall Meeting Held To Explain Rules and Regulations of DC's Medical Marijuana Program|accessdate=2011-07-11|publisher=MyFoxDC|date=February 10, 2011|author=Audrey Barnes|work=News}}{{cite news|url=http://www.tbd.com/articles/2011/02/advocates-push-for-medical-marijuana-law-to-go-into-effect-52021.html|title=Advocates push for medical marijuana law to go into effect|accessdate=2011-07-11|publisher=TBD|date=February 10, 2011|author= Mike Conneen|work=News}} On the one year anniversary of Congress approving the legislation, he helped organize a press conference to call on the District of Columbia government to fully implement the program, allow patients to grow their own medicine, and to establish an affirmative defense for patients.{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jul/26/medical-marijuana-backers-still-waiting/|title=D.C. medical marijuana backers still waiting|accessdate=2011-11-23|publisher=Washington Times|date=July 26, 2011|author=Thomas Howell Jr.|work=News}} Due to the "glacial pace"{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/official-medical-marijuana-in-dc-by-may-2012/2011/07/24/gIQA2aGThI_story.html|title=Official: Medical marijuana in D.C. by May 2012|accessdate=2011-11-23|publisher=Washington Post|date=July 29, 2011|author=Victor Zapana|work=News}} and a requirement to sign a legal waiver concerning federal prosecution for participation in the program, he said that the organization is taking a "wait and see" approach instead of applying for a license.{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/oct/10/medical-marijuana-applicants-facing-dc-deadline/|title=Medical marijuana applicants facing D.C. deadline|accessdate=2011-11-23|publisher=Washington Times|date=October 10, 2011|author=Thomas Howell Jr.|work=News}}

On February 21, 2012, a photo of him in colonial attire appeared in Washington Post columnist Vivek Wadhwa's article America, keep rewarding your dissidents{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-innovations/america-keep-rewarding-your-dissidents/2012/02/21/gIQA50wgRR_story.html|title=America, keep rewarding your dissidents|accessdate=2012-04-05|publisher=Washington Post|date=February 10, 2011|author=Vivek Wadhwa|work=News}}

In the summer of 2013 Schiller began driving an art car around Washington, DC with a sculpture of a genetically modified apple attached to the roof in order to protest the U.S. government's policies on the labeling of genetically modified foods.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/mobile-protest-art-draws-gawkers-in-dc/2013/06/12/b52d0610-d2d7-11e2-8cbe-1bcbee06f8f8_story.html?hpid=z4|title=Something fishy in D.C.: Cartop protest art, minus the protest, becomes a spectacle|accessdate=2013-06-13|publisher=Washington Post|date=June 13, 2013|author=Robert Samuels|work=News}} Named Goldie,{{cite news|url=http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059985479|title='Fishy food' cars attract stares, promote GMO labeling|accessdate=2013-10-08|publisher=Greenwire|date=August 1, 2013|author=Amanda Peterka|work=News}} the Ford Escort was a part of a fleet of art cars that featured sculptures of a corn cob, soybean, sugar beet, and tomato{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/31/fishy-cars-gmo-demonstration_n_3681918.html|title=Fishy Art Cars Bring Anti-GMO Message On Cross-Country Demonstration, From Washington, D.C., To Washington State|accessdate=2013-10-06|publisher=Huffington Post|date=July 31, 2013|author=Arin Greenwood|work=News}} that were designed to appear cross-bred with a fish to humorously convey the message that unlabeled genetically engineered food was fishy. In August 2013 he drove the car across the United States from Washington, DC to Washington state in order to promote the passage of Ballot Initiative 522.{{cite news|url=http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56729894-78/com-http-monsanto-areweeatingfishyfood.html.csp|title=Cross-country drive aims to show there's something 'fishy' about GMOs|accessdate=2013-10-05|publisher=Salt Lake Tribune|date=August 13, 2013|author=Matthew Piper|work=News}}

In 2020, he served as the field director for Initiative 81, a Washington, DC ballot initiative that will make some plant medicines the lowest law enforcement priority. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the campaign was forced to suspend its operations in the spring.{{cite news|url=https://hightimes.com/news/coronavirus-delays-d-c-shroom-decriminalization-bid/|title=Coronavirus Delays D.C. Shroom Decriminalization Bid|accessdate=2020-08-22|publisher=High Times|date=March 16, 2020|author=A.J. Herrington|work=News}} After the Council of the District of Columbia passed legislation allowing the District of Columbia Board of Elections to change ballot access rules, the campaign was able to successfully mail over 200,000 petitions to District of Columbia voters and hire over 150 petition circulators to collect signatures from registered voters outside grocery stores using social distancing in order to successfully qualify for the general election ballot. {{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-residents-to-vote-on-legalization-of-magic-mushrooms-on-november-ballot/2020/08/05/0e62478c-d720-11ea-b9b2-1ea733b97910_story.html|title=D.C. residents to vote on decriminalization of 'magic mushrooms' on November ballot|accessdate=2020-11-17|publisher=Washington Post|date=August 5, 2020|author=Justin Wm. Moyer|work=News}}

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Category:Living people

Category:American aerial photographers

Category:1980 births

Category:American bloggers

Category:American cannabis activists

Category:Cannabis in Washington, D.C.

Category:American cartographers

Category:Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni

Category:Photographers from Washington, D.C.