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Outside/In

When protest is a crime, part 1: the Standing Rock effect

Outside/In

NHPR

Natural Sciences, Society & Culture, Nature, Science, Documentary

4.71.5K Ratings

🗓️ 1 June 2023

⏱️ 44 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When members of the Oceti Sakowin gathered near the Standing Rock Reservation to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline, they decided on a strategy of nonviolent direct action. No violence… against people. But sabotage of property – well, that’s another question entirely.  Since the gathering at Standing Rock, anti-protest legislation backed by the fossil fuel industry has swept across the country. What happened? When is environmental protest considered acceptable… and when is it seen as a threat?  This is the first of two episodes exploring the changing landscape of environmental protest in the United States, from Standing Rock to Cop City and beyond. Part II will be released on June 8.  Featuring Chase Iron Eyes, Tokata Iron Eyes, Lesley Wood, Elly Page, and Connor Gibson. Special thanks to Phyllis Young and everyone at the Lakota People’s Law Project, especially Daniel Nelson and Jesse Phelps. Thanks also to Soundings Mindful Media.   SUPPORT Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member.  Subscribe to our (free) newsletter. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook   LINKS We highly recommend the podcast Burn Wild, investigative reporter Leah Sottile’s excellent series on the Earth Liberation Front. It centers on the question, “How far is too far to stop the planet burning?” Use the ICNL’s US Protest Law Tracker to look up anti-protest and critical infrastructure bills by state or by issue. “Exploring the sound of the American Indian occupation of Alcatraz”, produced by the Berkeley Voices program, and footage of the occupation, compiled by the Bay Area TV Archive.  For even more context on AIM, we recommend listening to Buffy, a podcast series on Buffy Sainte Marie, a Piapot Cree Nation singer-songwriter whose record “Now That the Buffalo’s Gone” was an anthem during the occupation of Alcatraz.  The Intercept’s reported extensively on Standing Rock and TigerSwan. They’ve also made the leaked documents available for anyone to read, and recently published this investigation on TigerSwan’s strategy of misinformation, in collaboration with Grist. This critique of How to Blow Up a Pipeline calls the book “reckless,” arguing that Andreas Malm “has a tendency of rehashing many well-established anarchist ideas.”   CREDITS Host: Nate Hegyi Reported, written, and produced by Justine Paradis  Mixed by Justine Paradis and Taylor Quimby Edited by Taylor Quimby with help from Nate Hegyi, Felix Poon, Rebecca Lavoie, and Jessica Hunt Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie Music by Podington Bear, Skylines, Cory Gray, Cooper Cannell, and Blue Dot Sessions. Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

There are certain moments that become part of our collective story, flashpoints.

0:06.9

When our past and our future feel like they're talking to each other, standing rock was

0:12.6

a moment like that.

0:14.1

The smell of fire, of campfire permeated the entire Oceti Shacoi camp.

0:23.5

That's Chase Iron Eyes.

0:25.0

He's an attorney and a member of the Oglala Sioux and standing rock nations, though he

0:29.2

says those are colonial names.

0:34.6

The protesters, including Chase, first gathered in 2016.

0:39.4

They were there to stop DApple, the Dakota Access Pipeline.

0:43.2

Because Pipeline's spill.

0:45.4

Because millions of people depend on the integrity of the Missouri River.

0:50.2

Because even when a pipeline works as intended, the result is more greenhouse gas emissions.

0:56.2

But the main reason why Chase and members of the Sioux Nation were camping at standing

0:59.9

rock was they were defending their sovereignty.

1:03.8

We had been disallowed from expressing our sovereign identity in that territory since 1889.

1:14.8

That's when the state of North Dakota and South Dakota were admitted to statehood.

1:20.5

It was the largest gathering of indigenous people in recent history.

1:25.4

This came from all over.

1:26.9

Tens of thousands of people cycled through that camp.

1:30.9

This is why one elder called it an ongoing international spiritual monument.

1:38.9

Singing.

1:40.4

You could hear songs, not just from our people.

...

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