Standing Rock Resistance

Powell’s images show how gasses were used to painfully slow the processes of peaceful protest.

Doing so will help citizens to expand their conceptions of the land and begin to appreciate it’s many resources. Which is equally significant when one considers the recent climate changes and negative effects of human pollution of the earth. Some opponents argue that intrusions of sacred Native American land and that harnessing natural resources from said land is irrelevant in today’s day and age. But it must be argued that this assertion is false and that current events such as the recent standoff at Standing Rock Reservation over crude oil pipelines in North Dakota have proven that this issue is still alive and well in American society.

American Indians are being treated in atrocious, illegal, and terrifying mater, while peacefully trying to protect water for all of us. On the Other side of this battle, sits Energy Transfer Partners who fund the Dakota Access Pipeline, the real outlaws. This is part of a bigger picture, Native American lands are under threat, and being stolen.. Now is the time that we must fight this if we don't our future is threatened. This is more than about water, but the bigger threat of climate change. This is a story of courage, culture, environmental protection, climate change, and the real world danger facing all of us.

Statement of Question: I will argue if the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe have a legitimate argument against the Dakota Access Pipeline citing the Energy Transfer Partners for being in violation of the Fort Laramie Treaty and the other statues such as the National Historic Protection Act, and National Environmental Policy Act. I will also analyze the involvement of protestors and the role of the U.S. Army Corps.

“To own the Earth, There is no word for this in the Sioux Language.” The Battle of Wounded Knee was the last battle of the American Indian Wars it was also one of the most gruesome battles that either side had seen. An estimated three hundred Indians lay dead while the US army had lost twenty five and thirty nine were wounded some of who would die later. This was one of the worst acts that the Americans have ever done to the Native Americans. One Native American stated later “it was as if the soldiers were crazed by the sight of blood and had appeared wild eyed as they shot again and again into some of the bodies.” Many Native Americans still hold grudges to this day over what happened to their ancestors on that sacred piece of land this

For the most part, everyone is pretty familiar with the Dakota Access Pipeline and the protests that surround it. A 1,172 mile pipeline project

Dallas Based Energy Transfer Partners, the company responsible for the construction of the pipeline, claims they have met with tribal leaders “many” times over the past two years, but, “the Standing Rock Sioux claims that meaningful consultations with their leaders were never held and that their concerns have been ignored” (Dakota Access Pipeline 12). This is blatant discrimination of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and disregards any concerns they may have. Cooperation with the tribal leaders would allow the tribe to communicate any further concerns with construction. Instead they have ignored the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and decided to do what they think is best for themselves. An ideology that has always haunted the Native American people. The discrimination continues with the Pipeline being built on Sioux territory and further violates treaties. Sincere Kirabo, coordinator at the American Humanist Association, states, “[the pipeline] does cross through territory that belongs to the Sioux, which directly violates the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie that states the land is reserved for ‘undisturbed use and occupation’ of Native inhabitants” (26). The treaties once created by the government to create peace, is now being disregarded and not being upheld. This is denying their freedom of being equal before the law and further shows discrimination against the

The Energy Transfer Partners wants to install the Dakota Pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, but the Sioux tribe is fighting to stop the installation of the pipeline to preserve their culture and assert their right to the property. The Dakota Pipeline is an oil pipeline that would transport oil from North Dakota through South Dakota and Iowa into Illinois. The Dakota Pipeline should not be installed because it disrespects the Native Americans’ culture and discriminates against The Sioux, a minority within the United States. The unjust treatment of Native Americans is due to the government’s disregard for Native American property rights and the government’s belief that they can simply take Native American property away because they are

Many people are taking a stand with the Standing Sioux tribe to stop the construction of an oil pipeline. Worland addresses this issue by informing readers the recent facts about the Dakota Access Pipeline. Many protesters are using this opportunity to address other issues that Pipeline will create in the long run. Meanwhile, the Energy Transfer Partners company will not let protesters stop the construction from happening. The construction still continues despite the current Administration’s request for a pause. As a result, the fight between the Standing Rock Sioux and Energy Transfer Partners has sparked warmth throughout the bitter North Dakota

Native American’s have always been the aspect that shapes our culture and history today. The rise of the new world started with the discovery of the land of which the Native Americans resided. They are referred to as the indigenous people because they were the people who lived and survived off this land first. The Native Americans have a unique culture that consisted of a bond with nature. They had similar gender roles just like the white population. The men were hunters, warriors, and protectors, while the women tended to the children, their homes, and farmed. While the late 1800 's into the 1900 's and beyond began to bring the struggle to the Native American Indians, they fought a tough battle in pursuit of protecting their land. Throughout history the Native American’s have been oppressed and exploited of their identity.

In an act of racism and climate change has caused an uproar from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The Sioux Tribe is suing to stop crews from burrowing beneath the Missouri river which is upstream from that Sioux Tribes land. According to the history of Standing Rock, “History” from www.standingrock.org, they explain “The Standing Rock Sioux Reservation was originally established as part of the Great Sioux Reservation. Article 2 of the Treaty of Fort Laramie of April 29, 1868 described the boundaries of the Great Sioux Reservation” (“History”). So many celebrities, like Leonard DiCaprio, are supporting the Sioux Tribe because the Tribe are seen as climate heroes for defending their land. Research from NBC NEWS, “Dakota Access Pipeline: What’s Behind the Protests?” by Daniel A Medina, he states “Members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe see the pipeline as both an environmental and cultural threat to their homeland. They say an oil spill would permanently contaminate the reservation 's water supply and that construction of the pipeline would destroy sacred sites where many of their ancestors are buried.

If a protest adheres to peaceful disobedience and accepts its consequences then there can be no averse affects to a free society. While the benefits of all civil disobedience movements are not as pivotal as the Civil Rights Act or memorable as Thoreau’s writings, they all are a sign of change. The Keystone Pipeline does not finish

In the beginning of this piece, McKibben states that the matchup between the Native Americans and the United States Army has “almost always ended horribly, and nothing we can do now will erase a history of massacres, stolen land and broken treaties” (McKibben). This provides the reader with a feeling of sympathy towards the Native Americans and he uses pathos to do it. Through the tone presented in this sentence and using words such as, “history of massacres and stolen land”, this article shows the Native Americans have been cheated for awhile now and had their belongings taken from them in an unfair way. Then further, in the article, McKibben shows ethos and his credibility with a fact stating, “the company building the pipeline has pushed the local authorities to remove protesters from land where construction has already desecrated indigenous burial sites” (McKibben). He provides this evidence to show that extreme measures need to be changed to make a difference.

Originally the DAPL was supposed to cross the Missouri River near Bismarck, but it was moved over concerns that any oil spilling would have destroyed the state capital’s drinking water. Consequently, the pipeline was shifted to a crossing approximately 805 meters from the reservation. The Standing Rock Sioux argue that the government did not consult with them enough and that the new crossing includes destruction of sacred spots and old indigenous burial grounds (Sidder, 2016). Moreover, an oil spill into Missouri River would be the death sentence to Standing Rock as it is their only drinking water supply. But the real controversy behind the DAPL is about larger philosophical and ideological issues. It is a pattern of deep injustice from the

For the Native Americans, the original location of their tribes is the center of the universe and is considered a sacred place. According to the Native American perspective, imagination creates the world, and thus memory of their land is a part of their culture. Tribal history is built upon the stories told about the land. Hence the Native American Removal in the 1830s paved the way for the emergence of an identity crisis in the twentieth century.The government passed the Native American Removal Act in 1830 under the administration of Andrew Jackson. The act “authorized the removal of Native American tribes to a large, unorganized, ‘permanent’ Native American territory west of the Mississippi River” (Hirschfelder 34). The popular phase of the removal is the Cherokees’ Trail of Tears during the winter of 1838-39 (34). Even though this this movement guaranteed a great territorial acquisition for the White Americans, it bruised the mind and soul of every Native American and ingrained a subconscious sense of loss regarding their culture, traditions and spiritual power. A tribe can only reach the peak of its spiritual potential if they are located on the land that their people originated from, and thus the farther they move from their center or location that their indigenous location, the more their spirituality fades and like Native American