Illustrations by D?lice Williams?
Activism Symbiosis and NoDAPL
“What happens when environmental activists work together with Indigenous activists?” This may sound like the beginning of a bad and probably offensive joke, but as it turns out, the answer is both interesting and important for the future of protest movements involving both of these two groups. In fact, just five years ago we had the opportunity to see precisely this interaction during the protests against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, DAPL for short, just outside of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota. In 2016, Native Americans from the surrounding area gathered to protest the construction of the oil pipeline which was planned to pass under the nearby Lake Oahe, a water body considered sacred by the local Sioux tribe and crucial to their livelihood. Eventually, an encampment formed just north of the reservation near the proposed construction site, and many environmental activists began to flock to the site to protest the construction as well. As more and more non-indigenous protestors came to the camp to protest, what began as a movement focused on Indigenous sovereignty and the protection of a water source vital to the local Native American residents started to evolve into something much more complex. Consequently, the notion of allyship came under intense scrutiny and criticism as many began to question the true role of non-indigenous protestors in shifting the focus away from Indigenous cultural and ecological preservation. Despite this, it is clear that the convergence of Indigenous activists with non-indigenous environmental activists during the NoDAPL movement proved to be a mutually beneficial collaboration because of the growing interdependence between the environmental and decolonization movements.
In the modern day, the decolonization efforts undertaken by Indigenous activists are becoming more and more crucial to the success of the environmental movement globally. Nick Estes and Jaskiran Dhillon shine the spotlight on this interdependence, saying,
An accurate examination of the social and political causes of climate change and related forms of environmental harm demands that we take a close look at the history of genocide, land dispossession, and concerted destruction of Indigenous societies and cultural practices that accompanies the irreversible damage wrought by environmental destruction.
If the causes of environmental damage are inextricably linked with the process of colonization, as Estes and Dhillon argue, then it is only logical that efforts to undo this process? decolonization”? shall serve to bolster environmental causes as well. This is because decolonization efforts by Native Americans and other Indigenous groups across the globe oppose the very political and economic schemes that are accelerating us towards a global climate crisis, in particular what the authors identify as racial capitalism” (Estes and Dhillon). In spite of this, Dhillon and Estes are quick to point out that the role of Indigenous activism is often forgotten in today’s environmental movements, saying that even the most seemingly progressive configurations of environmental justice have yet to centralize Indigenous leadership and questions of sovereignty in their platforms.” Looking at the NoDAPL movement in particular, however, we see that the Indigenous rights centered aspect of the movement did not go unnoticed, and in fact points us towards one way in which the NoDAPL protests stood out among other grassroots Indigenous movements.
Conversely, what would typically be seen as environmental goals were indeed central to the collaboration among vastly different and distant Indigenous groups in the NoDAPL movement. Speaking in broader terms, Erich Steinman writes,
It is in the protection and defence of land and ecological systems ? in response to distinct threats ? that have historically moved specific American Indian tribal communities and activists to put aside or surmount these challenges to collaboration, and to work together with others through grassroots action. (1076)
From this standpoint, we may see how the goals of ecological preservation made the far-reaching influence of NoDAPL’s Indigenous rights possible by providing a common ground of opposition to the construction of the oil pipeline, which itself acted as a kind of synecdoche for the global pollution caused by the extraction and use of fossil fuels. But Steinman also highlights the fact that Each of the more than 560 Native nations is fiercely independent, making American Indian efforts to speak and act with a formally unified voice a highly collaborative and challenging process itself” (1076). Thus, without the unifying effect of shared ecological preservation goals, it is likely that the inter-tribal collaboration and support would not have manifested on the massive scale that was seen during the NoDAPL movement. Environmental preservation was certainly not the only goal that had such a unifying effect on the diverse Indigenous groups that participated in NoDAPL, but as Steinman points out, a great many of these groups’ cultural identities are intertwined with the land they occupy in such a way that ecological preservation is not just utilitarian in purpose but a necessary facet of cultural preservation and education.
Not only are the environmental and Indigenous movements intertwined in a broad sense, it is also the case that each of their goals specifically within the NoDAPL protest movement itself build directly off of one another in such a way that the successes of one are concretely beneficial to the other. At first, this proposition may seem obvious given that one of the goals shared by both of these movements is to halt construction of the pipeline, and so succeeding in this goal would be a victory on both accounts. But the connection is more deep-rooted than that. Alexandra Deem argues that if we consider the situation at Standing Rock from a non-Western perspective, it becomes apparent that the construction of the pipeline is akin to the destruction of the Native Americans who live there, because no less value is placed on the land and water than the people themselves if Western systems of thought are discarded (126). In effect, this means that contributions made by environmental activists in NoDAPL to stop the pipeline from being built are not simply beneficial towards the Indigenous-centered aspect of NoDAPL because of broad connections with the process of decolonization, but are concretely supporting the survival of Indigenous people and their culture, in particular that of the Sioux that live in the immediate vicinity of the construction site. This is because, when equipped with this non-Western method of ontological evaluation, the physical landscape and natural resources themselves take on a level of importance that Western evaluation could only possibly ascribe to human beings. Importantly, the inclusion of non-Western perspectives discussed above is not merely an arbitrary choice? it is directly linked to the spiritual beliefs shared by many distinct Indigenous tribes regarding the sacrality of water.
Indeed, the commonly held view of many different Indigenous groups that water is sacred meshes with the pragmatic view of environmental activists trying to prevent water pollution. These common interests allow constructive communication between the two groups. For instance, Rosalyn LaPier explains the view of her grandparents’ tribe, the Blackfeet, held with regard to water, writing that The Soyiitapi, divine water beings, also instructed the Blackfeet to protect their home, the water world. The Blackfeet could not kill or eat anything living in water; they also could not disturb or pollute water.” The Blackfeet tribe is geographically quite distant from the Sioux of Standing Rock, and like all tribes, has its own unique identity and beliefs. However, as LaPier also points out, a great many Indigenous tribes across the world hold similar views that regard water as a significant spiritual entity on its own, albeit in their own distinct ways (LaPier).
What is crucial to note here is that the sense of the sacrality of water informs a kind of pragmatic motivation for preserving water as a natural resource as well. In this way, a strong conduit of communication was opened between the Indigenous and environmental activists in NoDAPL, because the Indigenous activists supported the same pragmatic preservation as the environmentalists, but for reasons deeply rooted in their own struggle for Indigenous sovereignty and cultural preservation. An environment was thus fostered in which both groups could be open about their goals and motivations without causing the movement to split into two factions, each working towards their own goals at the potential expense of the other. Also, since the belief that water is sacred is shared among many different Indigenous tribes across the world, the benefit this had on communication between the two activist groups was experienced much more widely than it would have been otherwise, and since NoDAPL became a truly international movement, the movement as a whole benefited from this increase in constructive communication. In a similar fashion, some of the environmental activists’ motives directly fed into their support of goals that would appear to be focused far more on issues central to Indigenous rights movements.
The environmental movement’s across-the-board opposition to the construction of oil pipelines like the DAPL also simultaneously attacks the issue of environmental racism, which is seen as a frequent cause of impingement on Indigenous sovereignty. NoDAPL activist and Standing Rock protestor Linda Black Elk points out the fact that a disproportionately high amount of fossil fuel extraction sites are located within the immediate vicinity of Indigenous communities (Nabong and Leffler). Black Elk’s observation gets at the heart of an important connection between the environmental and Indigenous movements in NoDAPL because it highlights how the construction of the DAPL is not an isolated event in terms of the confluence of these movements, but in fact is part of a systemic problem which consistently causes Indigenous people in the U.S. and abroad to be subjected to the ecologically devastating effects of pollution and resource extraction. By actively opposing the construction of projects like oil pipelines, the environmental movement is also standing in opposition to the system of environmental racism that targets areas where Indigenous people live. In the case of the NoDAPL movement, this notion is supported by the fact that the initial plan for the construction of the pipeline, positioned just north of the predominantly white city of Bismarck, was later scrapped in favor of the current location outside of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation (Nabong and Leffler).
Although it may not have been the direct intention of many non-indigenous environmental protestors who were part of NoDAPL, their contributions to the goal of halting DAPL’s construction not only acted in support of the local Sioux residents, but also effectively broadcasted support of the vast number of Indigenous groups subjected to the effects of environmental racism. This expression of support in turn allowed for the Indigenous sovereignty struggle at Standing Rock to reach a wide audience of environmentally-minded people who would otherwise not have been privy to the intimate connections between their cause and that of the Indigenous protestors on the reservation.
At the same time, support for the NoDAPL movement from Indigenous and environmental activists alike would surely not have manifested on the scale that it did without the initial organizational efforts undertaken by local Sioux leaders. In April of 2016, tribal historian Ladonna Brave Bull Allard played a central role in establishing an encampment which came to be known as Sacred Stone Camp, and initiated media outreach which quickly led to a large influx of activists, Indigenous and non-indigenous (Donnella). The camp was successful in acting as a central hub to garner support and organize daily protests. Even groups with no direct connection to the protests, including some centered on issues of environmentalism, sent supporters to the camp to aid the efforts at Standing Rock (Donnella). Since they lived in the immediate vicinity of the Dakota Access Pipeline’s construction, Native Americans from the northern portion of the Standing Rock reservation were the first to react to the construction. But simply acknowledging that they were the first to act would be downplaying the role of these local residents. They weren’t just first, they acted with incredible foresight and organizational prowess, choosing a location and constructing a camp which would serve as a base from which to launch further protest events as well as accommodate an ever-growing population of activists. Without such a centralized and thriving hub for the nascent movement, it is unlikely that many others besides the local residents would have been attracted to the protest site. The hub provided legitimacy to the movement from an outsider perspective, and, on the practical side of things, it made it much easier for newcomers to directly aid the protests, giving them somewhere to stay in a location that is rather remote, as was Sacred Stone. Since the Sacred Stone Camp was established entirely by local Sioux residents and leaders, and this was a necessary step in order to attract the attention and support of environmental and other non-indigenous activists, this is yet another example of how the work of the Indigenous activists in NoDAPL benefited the environmental side of the movement.
Despite the negative effects of allyship on the movement, the activists in NoDAPL who participated in the protests explicitly in support of environmental preservation did not harm the Indigenous-rights side of the movement. In this usage, ‘ally’ means a person who profits, financially or in terms of status, from giving off the appearance of aiding an oppressed group whilst effectively hampering the group’s efforts (?Accomplices Not Allies”). In the case of NoDAPL, many such allies took part in the events at Standing Rock and elsewhere in the country, to the dismay of many activists, especially Indigenous activists, who were witnessing the commodification of their own oppression. The negative effect of allies on the NoDAPL movement was rather significant, as they drew attention away from the issues which spurred the movement and steered it towards themselves instead. The authors of the pamphlet Accomplices Not Allies” contrast this notion of ‘ally’ to that of ‘accomplice,’ which, they argue, aren’t motivated by personal guilt or shame, they may have their own agenda but they are explicit” (?Accomplices Not Allies”). The activists in NoDAPL who participated in the movement with the explicit purpose of furthering environmental conservation do not fall under the category of allies, because, as the pamphlet authors state, even those with different motives from that of the oppressed group in question can avoid becoming allies if they are open about their motives. Rather than hide behind a false notion of allyship, two groups may work alongside one another in a symbiotic fashion to achieve both of their goals. Thus, while it is true that many non-indigenous protestors in NoDAPL did fall under the category of allies, the protestors who could properly be labeled as environmental activists did not fall under this category, and so did not actively harm or detract from the movement’s Indigenous-oriented facet. Moreover, as discussed above, the environmental activists did much that benefited the Indigenous rights focus of the movement.
Although unsuccessful in halting the construction of the pipeline, the NoDAPL movement was extraordinarily successful in uniting hundreds of disparate Indigenous groups from around the globe in order to fight for issues of sovereignty and cultural preservation that affect each and every one of them. Not only that, but the movement also represented a coalition between Indigenous and environmental activists on a scale never before seen in the country’s history. Fortunately, this coalition turned out to be mutually beneficial for each of these groups. The result was an intertwining of the two groups on ideological terms as well as a concrete interdependence that evolved during the course of the movement. As the issues that motivate these two often-overlapping activist groups continue to grow more and more drastic, the links between them will become harder to ignore. As such, a thorough analysis of the NoDAPL movement may prove to be crucial in understanding and navigating similar protest movements of the future.
Author: Casey Littrell
The story of any movement is a story about people. When a protest movement makes the news, we often hear about goals, ideals, and demands. About litigation and about legislation. About marches and sit-ins, obstructions and destruction, pepper spray and police batons. But we seldom hear about the people that make these movements what they are, and what we do hear tends to arouse a mental image of a movement’s people as some kind of cohesive bloc, always moving together in lockstep.
This mental image is the result of compressing reality, filtering it through a fine cloth, and tossing away the rest: the hard seeds, the bitter rind. But with just a little bit of digging, you’ll discover that movements are made of ordinary people? some who disagree with one another, some who fight the same battle for different reasons, and some who tag along for all the wrong reasons. The #NoDAPL movement was no different. If you were to stand in the center of Sacred Stone Camp in 2016, you wouldn’t just see members of the Standing Rock Sioux, you’d see members of hundreds of different Native American tribes as well as thousands of additional protestors, mostly environmental activists of all different backgrounds. In my essay I decided to investigate the effects of the confluence of Indigenous protestors and non-indigenous environmental activists.
I think a key moment when I was doing research for this essay was when it dawned on me that the kind of complex interaction amongst different groups in #NoDAPL wasn’t unique to #NoDAPL. In fact, the more I investigated, the more obvious it became that a movement without this kind of heterogeneity of identities and motivations would be pretty exceptional. We are complex creatures, and our capacity for large-scale cooperation and connection exemplifies our complexity, rather than refuting it. So as tempting as it may be for those who are not engaged in a given protest movement to accept a simplified narrative about it, the rich and motley truth will always be there, just beneath the surface, a testament to what lies at the heart of every movement: ordinary people with extraordinary courage.
Instructor: Sean Lovitt
Each new generation is predictably accused by their elders of being idealistic.” Young people’s political desires are routinely discounted as unrealistic.” Yet, young rebels have often been at the forefront of social movements that changed the world for the better. In this class, we studied several generations of young people involved in social movements, from the 1960s to the George Floyd Uprising. In the first half of the class, students encountered some of the authors, writings, and depictions of movements, including Civil Rights, Anti-War, Black Power, Feminism, Gay Pride, Environmentalism, Occupy, and Black Lives Matter. Students wrote two short essays, one on a classic play and another analyzing iconic images from these movements. The second half of the semester was devoted to a research project, beginning with a proposal. I provided the students with six broad options, which students used to propose a unique research topic. After their topics were approved, students worked through stages to build a research paper. These stages included an annotated bibliography, several drafts, peer review, and final revisions. These research papers allowed students to investigate the formation and evolution of a social movement, as well as ways that movements relate to one another.
Works Cited
Works Cited
Accomplices Not Allies: Abolishing the Ally Industrial Complex.” Indigenous Action Media, 26 Nov. 2019, www.indigenousaction.org/accomplices-not-allies-abolishing-the-ally-industrial-complex/.
Deem, Alexandra. Mediated Intersections of Environmental and Decolonial Politics in the No Dakota Access Pipeline Movement.” Theory, Culture & Society, vol. 36, no. 5, 2018, pp. 113?131, doi:10.1177/0263276418807002.
Donnella, Leah. At The Sacred Stone Camp, Tribes And Activists Join Forces To Protect The Land.” NPR, NPR, 10 Sept. 2016, www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/09/10/493110892/at-the-sacred-stone-camp-a-coalition-joins-forces-to-protect-the-land.
Estes, Nick, et al. Decolonization Is Essential to Successfully Resist Extractivism.” Truthout, Truthout, 7 Feb. 2020, truthout.org/articles/decolonization-is-essential-to-successfully-resist-extractivism/.
LaPier, Rosalyn R. For Native Americans, a River Is Sacred.” EcoWatch, EcoWatch, 18 Dec. 2019, www.ecowatch.com/native-americans-rivers-2494801355.html.
Nabong, Pat, and June Leffler. NoDAPL Supporters Chant ‘Mni Wiconi’ and It’s Not Just about Water.” Medill Reports Chicago, 13 Jan. 2017, news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/nodapl-supporters-chant-mni-wiconi-and-its-not-just-about-water/.
Steinman, Erich. Why Was Standing Rock and the #NoDAPL Campaign so Historic? Factors Affecting American Indian Participation in Social Movement Collaborations and Coalitions.” Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 42, no. 7, 2018, pp. 1070?1090, doi:10.1080/01419870.2018.1471215.
Paper Prompt
THE PAPER WITH SOUR?CES
The Paper with Sources proposal is the first step in this class’s research project. It is meant to help you decide on a focused idea and describe your plans for researching and writing about it.
You should feel free to explore any topic that interests you within the framework provided here. I hope that you can draw inspiration from our discussions and use the work we have done in class to help you think critically, consider multiple audiences, and how your topic relates to social movements.
Since the Paper with Sources will ultimately require you to write 8-10 pages, using at least 6 sources, over approximately a 2-month period, you should find a topic that fascinates you, motivates you to research, and keeps you asking questions.
Overall, the Paper with Sources is designed to build on your interests, allowing you to explore them in a direction that interests you. But keep in mind, the proposal must be approved by me.
You can begin the process of honing your specific topic by choosing from any of the following general subjects:
| 1. Forgotten Histories
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| 2. A social movement history of the present
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| 3. The Relationship Between Art and Movements |
| 4. The Role of Technology in Movements
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| 5. Political Education
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| 6. Intersecting Movements
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THE PAPER WITH SOURCES PROPOSAL
The Paper with Sources proposal is the first step in this class’s research project, known as the Paper with Sources. It is meant to help you decide on a focused idea and describe your plans for researching and writing about it.
You should feel free to explore any topic that interests you within the framework provided here. I hope that you can draw inspiration from our discussions and use the work we have done in class to help you think critically, consider multiple audiences, and how your topic relates to social movements.
Since the Paper with Sources will ultimately require you to write 8-10 pages, using at least 6 sources, over approximately a 2-month period, you should find a topic that fascinates you, motivates you to research, and keeps you asking questions.
Overall, the Paper with Sources is designed to build on your interests, allowing you to explore them in a direction that interests you. But keep in mind, the proposal must be approved by me!
You can begin the process of honing your specific topic by choosing from any of the following general subjects:
| 1. Forgotten Histories:
Most of us learned about the Civil Rights movement in school, usually taught through the broad strokes of events and representative figures. We rarely had the chance to look at lesser-known groups within this period like the Deacons of Defense, let alone any of the other groups that appeared since this period?for example, the feminist collective WITCH. New social movements arrive like Black Lives Matter with little-to-no sense of the multitude of individuals, groups, and movements that make up their history. Since social movements tend to be made up of young people in opposition to authority, their histories can sometimes be disregarded by the establishment and all-too-easily lost. For this option, you will research a lesser-known activist group and develop an argument for their significance. Suggested primary sources: Assata, Screaming Queens, 1971
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| 2. A social movement history of the present:
The George Floyd Uprising, Standing Rock, the Women’s March, the Capitol riot are only a few of the massive protests in just the past 5 years. While they each had their own political issues, many factors contribute to protests arriving at a particular time and place and in a specific shape. Social movements that produce these events are more than just an idea or a knee-jerk reaction to an issue. When it comes to social movements, it is important to consider what past organizing went unnoticed before they took the world stage as well as what contemporary conditions make the appearance of movements unique and new. For this option, you will research the recent history of a particular 21st century social movement and develop an argument about what makes this movement the way it is. Suggested primary source: Behind the Bastards, Whose Streets, After the Fall, Feminism of the 99%, Black Snake Killers
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| 3. The Relationship Between Art and Movements
Protesters have turned to visual art, poetry, songs, film, and a variety of other creative pursuits to forward their movements. These art forms can record events, inspire actions, and envision possible outcomes. Moreover, creative projects can reach new people or help activists think through problems and questions in their movements. Alternatively, non-activist artists can respond to, criticize, co-opt and appropriate the messages of social movements in their work. For this option, you will develop an argument about the relationship between a particular art work ? interpreted broadly ? and its relationship to a social movement. Suggested primary sources: Blues for Mister Charlie, Diane di Prima, art in the image bank”
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| 4. The Role of Technology in Movements:
Technology can be a double-edged sword for social movements. On one side, new technology plays a central role in growing, shaping, and connecting social movements. Technology can enable new types of movements to emerge, evolving past traditional determining factors like charismatic leaders or familiar organizations. On the other side, developments in technology increase the surveillance, control, and repression of new movements by their adversaries in the government or industry. Rapid circulation of information and new forms of representation can galvanize a movement or smother it. For this option, you will develop an argument about a specific form of technology and its role in the evolution of a particular social movement. Suggested primary sources: Whose Streets, 1971, History of an Occupation
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| 5. Political Education:
Education doesn’t need to happen in a traditional institution like a school or a university. Activists in social movements often find alternative outlets for education in order to learn topics and skills not available in the classroom. These outlets can include anything from radical education groups to activist trainings for practicing protest tactics to independent investigations?sometimes taking direct action to gain prohibited information (ex. COINTELPRO). Since many alternatives to education are informal, unofficial, or spontaneous, they aren’t always familiar to outsiders. For this option, you will investigate a form of political education within social movements and develop an argument about its significance to social awareness. Suggested primary source: Assata, Blues for Mister Charlie, 1971, Black Power Mixtape
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| 6. Intersecting Movements
Social movements tend to be categorized by their specific issues or even by the identities of the participants. Yet, movements tend to create networks, connect with each other, inspire new groupings, and build coalitions. There are endless connections to trace from Black Power sparking the Asian American movement to LGBTQ leadership in Black Lives Matter. Conversely, social movements contain internal conflicts that sometimes lead to splits over leadership, ideas, and goals. For example, the Women’s Liberation in the 60s grew from the dissatisfaction with women’s subordinate roles in the anti-war movement. Subsequently, lesbian and trans women sometimes splintered from the mainstream feminist movement to form their own groups. Movements are not homogenous; they are made up of allies, accomplices, and frenemies. For this option, you will research an intersection between different identities within movements and develop an argument about this relationship. Suggested primary sources: Assata, She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry, Black Snake Killaz, Screaming Queens
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| 7. An original topic of your choice:
Do not be fooled! The freedom of choosing your own topic makes this the most difficult option to have approved by me. If you are passionate about a topic that has nothing to do with those listed above, you still have an opportunity to write on it. However, you will have to propose an original argument that demonstrates the significance of your research. For this option, you can write on anything you want related to protest and social movements but with an original angle. The best original topics have an unconventional subject or a new way of looking at something specific.
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**keep in mind that these general subjects above are meant only to provide possible directions and inspire thought. They are not a formula or a strategy. In the end, the Paper with Sources will be based on your own original ideas**
There are three stages to writing the proposal:
1) Pick a general subject area from the ones listed above
2) decide on your specific topic (much narrower than a subject) based on your interests to discuss in class
3) write a proposal explaining your idea, your focus, and plan.
Your written proposal will:
- Include an explanation of which subject your topic belongs to from the list above
- briefly outline your topic of research and potential primary source
- Provides a hypothesis or problem to explore
- Explain why it would be worthwhile to consider
- Suggests places where you will begin your research
- Include questions or concerns that you have about researching this topic
Important Dates (subject to change: see Canvas for updated dates)
| Topic Ideas | October 14 |
| Proposal | October 21 |
| 5 sources | October 28 |
| Annotated Bibliography | Nov 4 |
| First Pages | Nov 11 |
| Peer review | Nov 14 |
| 4-page draft | Nov 18 |
| Final draft | Dec 8 |