Seminar - Fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline and Indigenous Justice: What happened? Where do we go from here?

Starting in April 2016, thousands of people, led by Standing Rock Sioux Tribal members, gathered at camps to stop the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), creating the #NoDAPL movement. The movement temporarily blocked pipeline construction, though the Trump administration in 2017 reversed this decision, permitting DAPL's construction. #NoDAPL has mobilised Indigenous peoples and allies everywhere through the philosophy of "Mni Wiconi" or "Water is Life."

In this seminar, Dr. Whyte will tell some of the story of the #NoDAPL movement, cover the politics of U.S. colonialism that pushed DAPL's ultimate construction, and close with a discussion of recent legal outcomes and the future of what the movement means for Indigenous environmental justice on Turtle Island and globally.

The event is for anyone, and will be informative for students and faculty, activists and concerned citizens in Aotearoa/NZ.

Kyle Whyte (Potawatomi) holds the Timnick Chair in the Humanities at Michigan State University. He is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Community Sustainability. His primary research addresses moral and political issues concerning climate policy and Indigenous peoples and the ethics of cooperative relationships between Indigenous peoples and climate science organisations. He is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. His website is kylewhyte.cal.msu.edu.