The North Dakota Standing Rock Movement

[PhillipBlunt]

Standing Rock And The Forgotten History Of Native American Activism

09/05/2016 09:15 am ET | Updated Sep 05, 2016

Ben Railton Professor & public scholar of American Studies.

Don Wilkie via Getty Images

 

For the last few months, members of North Dakota’s Standing Rock Sioux tribe and allies from numerous other Native American tribes have protested the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, a multi-billion dollar oil pipeline that would span four Western states and affect native communities and land in many ways. The community of protesters represents the largest gathering of Native Americans in more than a century, yet it has been largely ignored by the mainstream American media. (The protest’s significant social media presence might make it seem to some of us as if it’s receiving such attention, but outside of that bubble of insiders there has been shockingly little national coverage.)

The absence of Standing Rock from our collective conversations is troubling on its own terms, as this is a huge and compelling American story. It’s also a story that links to many other significant issues: from debates over energy policy to the movement against police brutality, the history of Native American sovereignty and land rights to 21st century social media and hashtag activism.

Yet by minimizing and ignoring the protests, we’re also replicating longstanding national narratives of native communities as “vanishing Americans,” tragic victims of oppression with no real voice, agency, or presence. And we’re likewise forgetting the alternative, vital histories of Native American resistance, protest, and activism through which native communities have responded to and often changed those darkest histories.

Both of those troubling trends can be traced back to the early 19th century era of President Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal policy. The horrific Trail of Tears that was that policy’s most destructive result is perhaps the most frequently taught and remembered Native American history. Yet far less well remembered are the 1829 and 1830 Cherokee Memorials, collaboratively authored texts addressed directly to Congress through which the tribe responded to the removal policy with a stunning combination of legal and constitutional, historical and political, and rhetorical and emotional appeals. While the Memorials did not succeed in halting the tribe’s removal, they nonetheless comprise a vital moment and model of American protest and activism.

The same era also witnessed an equally inspiring and more successful moment of resistance: the Mashpee Revolt of 1833-1834. The Cape Cod (Massachusetts) tribe had been dealing with its own version of illegal white intrusions and settlements on their land, and with the help of the fiery native preacher, orator, and activist William Apess, the Mashpee fought back. Apess and tribal leaders drafted a formal resolution of protest, one quite parallel to (and perhaps even partially inspired by) the Cherokee Memorials; the document and the tribe’s subsequent protests gained the attention of Boston abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison and other sympathetic allies, and aided by their advocacy the tribe secured the state’s recognition of its right to self-governance within a new “Indian District of Mashpee.”

Our collective memories of Native Americans in the late 19th century, when they exist at all, similarly tend to focus on the most destructive and tragic histories: the Indian Wars and the final surrenders of leaders such as Geronimo and Chief Joseph; the horrors of the Wounded Knee massacre; the rise of the interconnected reservation and reform school systems. Those dark American histories certainly demand even fuller remembrance and engagement than we’ve yet given them.

Yet this was the same period in which Ponca chief Standing Bear and other members of the Nebraska tribe took part in an extensive speaking tour to argue for their tribal rights, culminating in Standing Bear’s stunning legal victory in 1879’s Standing Bear v. Crook, a case which established Native American personhood under the law. This was also the period in which Paiute chief and author Sarah Winnemucca resisted her tribe’s removal through a combination of legal petitions, written activism, and land occupation, helping return many Paiutes to their Oregon homelands.

The legacies of the Cherokees and Apess, of Standing Bear and Winnemucca, echo into our present moment. The construction of pipelines on native land can and must be read as yet another oppressive, destructive history unfolding against native communities. Yet once again those dark histories have produced inspiring acts of resistance and protest. When the Senate voted against authorizing construction of the Keystone Pipeline in November 2014, Lakota activist Grey Graycloud led a chant of celebration, a singular moment that illustrates the ongoing efforts by tribes in both the U.S. and Canada to protest and stop the pipeline.

Today, we see an even more collective and organized communal protest unfolding in Standing Rock. It’s quite possible that the Dakota Access Pipeline will be built nonetheless—the dark histories have too often overcome inspiring activisms. History tells us with certainty that more violence and discrimination will be directed at these native protesters and their allies. Yet what we cannot and must not do is extend and complement those oppressions by repeating our history of minimizing and ignoring Native American protest and activism. And if focusing our collective attention on Standing Rock helps us likewise remember those longstanding legacies of resistance, all the better.

 

I thought this deserved a thread as it seems the mainstream media has all but ignored what is going on in North Dakota, or passed it off as violent or disruptive.

 

I, for one, am extremely moved and inspired by the solidarity and power behind the movement.

[Warhippy]

Oh you mean that place with that thing that the big media outlets refuse to report on?  And the one outlet that did their head reporter and producer has been charged with trespassing for recording the events that saw the security team macing people and letting their dogs attack them?

 

Ya.  'Murica

[PhillipBlunt]

19 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

Oh you mean that place with that thing that the big media outlets refuse to report on?  And the one outlet that did their head reporter and producer has been charged with trespassing for recording the events that saw the security team macing people and letting their dogs attack them?

 

Ya.  'Murica

Yep. That one.

[aGENT]

[Realtor Rod]

51 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

Standing Rock And The Forgotten History Of Native American Activism

09/05/2016 09:15 am ET | Updated Sep 05, 2016

Ben Railton Professor & public scholar of American Studies.

Don Wilkie via Getty Images

 

For the last few months, members of North Dakota’s Standing Rock Sioux tribe and allies from numerous other Native American tribes have protested the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, a multi-billion dollar oil pipeline that would span four Western states and affect native communities and land in many ways. The community of protesters represents the largest gathering of Native Americans in more than a century, yet it has been largely ignored by the mainstream American media. (The protest’s significant social media presence might make it seem to some of us as if it’s receiving such attention, but outside of that bubble of insiders there has been shockingly little national coverage.)

The absence of Standing Rock from our collective conversations is troubling on its own terms, as this is a huge and compelling American story. It’s also a story that links to many other significant issues: from debates over energy policy to the movement against police brutality, the history of Native American sovereignty and land rights to 21st century social media and hashtag activism.

Yet by minimizing and ignoring the protests, we’re also replicating longstanding national narratives of native communities as “vanishing Americans,” tragic victims of oppression with no real voice, agency, or presence. And we’re likewise forgetting the alternative, vital histories of Native American resistance, protest, and activism through which native communities have responded to and often changed those darkest histories.

Both of those troubling trends can be traced back to the early 19th century era of President Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal policy. The horrific Trail of Tears that was that policy’s most destructive result is perhaps the most frequently taught and remembered Native American history. Yet far less well remembered are the 1829 and 1830 Cherokee Memorials, collaboratively authored texts addressed directly to Congress through which the tribe responded to the removal policy with a stunning combination of legal and constitutional, historical and political, and rhetorical and emotional appeals. While the Memorials did not succeed in halting the tribe’s removal, they nonetheless comprise a vital moment and model of American protest and activism.

The same era also witnessed an equally inspiring and more successful moment of resistance: the Mashpee Revolt of 1833-1834. The Cape Cod (Massachusetts) tribe had been dealing with its own version of illegal white intrusions and settlements on their land, and with the help of the fiery native preacher, orator, and activist William Apess, the Mashpee fought back. Apess and tribal leaders drafted a formal resolution of protest, one quite parallel to (and perhaps even partially inspired by) the Cherokee Memorials; the document and the tribe’s subsequent protests gained the attention of Boston abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison and other sympathetic allies, and aided by their advocacy the tribe secured the state’s recognition of its right to self-governance within a new “Indian District of Mashpee.”

Our collective memories of Native Americans in the late 19th century, when they exist at all, similarly tend to focus on the most destructive and tragic histories: the Indian Wars and the final surrenders of leaders such as Geronimo and Chief Joseph; the horrors of the Wounded Knee massacre; the rise of the interconnected reservation and reform school systems. Those dark American histories certainly demand even fuller remembrance and engagement than we’ve yet given them.

Yet this was the same period in which Ponca chief Standing Bear and other members of the Nebraska tribe took part in an extensive speaking tour to argue for their tribal rights, culminating in Standing Bear’s stunning legal victory in 1879’s Standing Bear v. Crook, a case which established Native American personhood under the law. This was also the period in which Paiute chief and author Sarah Winnemucca resisted her tribe’s removal through a combination of legal petitions, written activism, and land occupation, helping return many Paiutes to their Oregon homelands.

The legacies of the Cherokees and Apess, of Standing Bear and Winnemucca, echo into our present moment. The construction of pipelines on native land can and must be read as yet another oppressive, destructive history unfolding against native communities. Yet once again those dark histories have produced inspiring acts of resistance and protest. When the Senate voted against authorizing construction of the Keystone Pipeline in November 2014, Lakota activist Grey Graycloud led a chant of celebration, a singular moment that illustrates the ongoing efforts by tribes in both the U.S. and Canada to protest and stop the pipeline.

Today, we see an even more collective and organized communal protest unfolding in Standing Rock. It’s quite possible that the Dakota Access Pipeline will be built nonetheless—the dark histories have too often overcome inspiring activisms. History tells us with certainty that more violence and discrimination will be directed at these native protesters and their allies. Yet what we cannot and must not do is extend and complement those oppressions by repeating our history of minimizing and ignoring Native American protest and activism. And if focusing our collective attention on Standing Rock helps us likewise remember those longstanding legacies of resistance, all the better.

 

I thought this deserved a thread as it seems the mainstream media has all but ignored what is going on in North Dakota, or passed it off as violent or disruptive.

 

I, for one, am extremely moved and inspired by the solidarity and power behind the movement.

Progress?

[PhillipBlunt]

26 minutes ago, Realtor Rod said:

Progress?

Regarding?

[PhillipBlunt]

46 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Care to elaborate?

[aGENT]

Just now, PhillipBlunt said:

Care to elaborate?

That's just generally how we treat First Nations people, issues, news stories etc. 

 

Out of sight, out of mind.

[PhillipBlunt]

Just now, J.R. said:

That's just generally how we treat First Nations people, issues, news stories etc. 

 

Out of sight, out of mind.

Couldn't agree more. I think what's happening in Standing Rock, with the thousands of people from various nations across North America is an amazingly positive occurrence. It points to the continual and undeniable power of people and community, and the fact that mainstream media is full of ****.

[Hairy Kneel]

We need to get into solar and wind. I was working in Lytton nothing but solar and wind as far as the eye could see. Solar on top of all gov't office buildings? (we wouldn't have to pay for their ac). Solar panels are advancing to be lighter and more efficient.

http://inhabitat.com/chile-is-generating-so-much-solar-energy-that-its-giving-it-away-for-free/

[chon derry]

this or this?

[riffraff]

1 minute ago, chon derry said:

this or this?

Oh man I need a tropical holiday.

 

bottom pic looks like Anywhere, Saskatchewan.

[chon derry]

2 minutes ago, riffraff said:

Oh man I need a tropical holiday.

 

bottom pic looks like Anywhere, Saskatchewan.

ft. mac oil spill last year

[riffraff]

26 minutes ago, chon derry said:

ft. mac oil spill last year

Damn eh.

 

hard to see in the phone.... Just looke like stoon after a rain

[ForsbergTheGreat]

2 hours ago, chon derry said:

this or this?

Those two images have zero to do with each other.  One is northern Alberta and the other is some tropical ocean.  Unless you are some how implying the oil is prevent alberta from become a tropical ocean, which would be just nonsense. 

[chon derry]

27 minutes ago, ForsbergTheGreat said:

Those two images have zero to do with each other.  One is northern Alberta and the other is some tropical ocean.  Unless you are some how implying the oil is prevent alberta from become a tropical ocean, which would be just nonsense. 

the protest in north dakota is about WATER or oil take your pick!!!!!! but your right the 2 pics do not have anything to do with each other and was intended to show 2 very different extremes! the clarity of the water in the first pic was just for example  only , the bottom pic is self explanatory. your reply is ridiculous!

[HerrDrFunk]

Yet if someone wanted to put a pipeline through Arlington, I'm pretty sure that would die pretty quickly.

[clam linguine]

4 hours ago, chon derry said:

the bottom pic is self explanatory.

Yes, the bottom picture shows that this so called environmental disaster is really nothing more than a minuscule smudge on the landscape, which will be reclaimed in nature's blink of an eye.  Not so with windmills and solar panels as they will be polluting the natural landscape forever.

 

Pipeline protests are the brilliant tactic of foreign oil regimes who now enjoy unanticipated dividends from their investment due to attention seeking protest groups and a mostly cowardly or gullible populace.

 

 

 

[PhillipBlunt]

2 hours ago, clam linguine said:

Yes, the bottom picture shows that this so called environmental disaster is really nothing more than a minuscule smudge on the landscape, which will be reclaimed in nature's blink of an eye.  Not so with windmills and solar panels as they will be polluting the natural landscape forever.

 

Pipeline protests are the brilliant tactic of foreign oil regimes who now enjoy unanticipated dividends from their investment due to attention seeking protest groups and a mostly cowardly or gullible populace.

 

 

 

You couldn't be further from the truth, but please go on. 

[clam linguine]

On 9/15/2016 at 10:04 PM, PhillipBlunt said:

You couldn't be further from the truth, but please go on. 

Well thanks for the invitation...I believe I will go on...a bit.  The first paragraph is plainly boring and true so I will not elaborate.

 

Pipeline protests are the brilliant tactic of foreign oil regimes 

 

As I recollect...

 

Twenty years ago or so the Sierra Club decided they were more interested in the Canadian oil sands than in mountain environs.  Back then we needed oil (prefracking) to break free from OPEC clutches...so it was inexplicable.  It turned out the Club was getting substantial new funds for this fight  from a mysterious source in ......the United Kingdom?!  So I spent many years wondering why the Brits would double cross us. 

 

So years later I noticed the Saudi  influences in the UK  (soccer especially) and it occurred to me that maybe it was the Saudis funneling money through the UK ...duh...that would make sense.  About five years ago I read something that actually attributed the contributions to...the Russians, lol.  Smart guys.

 

Anyhoo...the Sierra Club has added pipelines and fracking to its hit list, it continues to get mysterious financing, and it does nothing to inhibit the production or importation of foreign oil. The Club has been fighting hard to preserve the Saudi market in Canada.  From the Financial post:

 

It’s come to this because of pressure of groups such as the Sierra Club, which in a recent statement took credit for rallying Quebec mayors against Energy East. “When the Montreal Urban Community … announced its opposition to TransCanada Corporation’s controversial Energy East pipeline yesterday, nearly two dozen hard-working volunteers with Sierra Club Canada’s Quebec Chapter took a victory lap,” the group said.