Week 15 Reflection
Climate Justice, Digital Activism, and Gender, Prof. Frances Roberts-Gregory
By Cormac Madden, 4/25/2019
This week's theme is "Indigenous Women, Social Media, & Pipeline Resistance." As such, many of the readings focused on the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock. Lane (2018) tells the story of a number of #NoDAPL activists through a series of personalized vignettes, which detail their personal perspectives and reasons for standing up against the pipeline. Tallbear (2016) also details womxn activists in Standing Rock, drawing connections between #NoDAPL, #IdleNoMore and #BlackLivesMatter. Karpus (2018) explores the tremendous amount of social media attention that was paid to the Standing Rock protestors– and how quickly that interest dwindled, drawing a connection with the Flint, Michigan water crisis. And Strauss (2018) details another pipeline fight that is following in the footsteps of #NoDAPL, the fight against the Bayou Bridge Pipeline in Lousiana. Finally, LaDuke (1992) discusses the militarization of young indigenous men and provides an indigenous feminist perspective on social movements, environmentalism, and militarism.
The readings for this week were empowering, depicting the battles of strong, indigenous women against seemingly insurmountable, hegemonically-entrenched foes. Each essay focuses on struggles in the present, and in doing so affirms indigenous existence and power while resisting mainstream practices which seek to restrain indigenous narratives to the past. The challenges faced by these activists are incredibly daunting, and the authors highlight that it is not just oil companies that are against them– it is the military, the media, and the entire government. It is the desire of this conglomeration to destroy Standing Rock and Bayou Lafourche, just as they have done to countless other ecosystems across our world, that makes the activists so easy to support yet unlikely to succeed, as Karpus (2018) writes. Unsurprisingly, the number of tragedies and inequalities told throughout these essays is massive. LaDuke (1992) highlights the outsized participation of indigenous Americans in the military, a saddening, government-engineered continuation of centuries of violence. And the pipeline fights highlight how, at a time when we are exploiting our Earth more than ever, it may seem like only indigenous people are fighting back.
Key Terms
Energy Transfer Partners (ETP): The company responsible for both the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Bayou Bridge Pipeline.
#NoDAPL: A hashtag used in the protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Bayou Bridge Pipeline: A proposed ETP oil pipeline in Bayou Lafourche, Louisiana.
References
Karpus, Chase. 2018. "Fifteen minutes of shame: Social media and 21st century environmental activism."
LaDuke, Winona. 1992. "An Indigenous Perspective on Feminism, Militarism and the Environment."
Lane, Temryss. 2018. "The frontline of refusal: indigenous women warriors of standing rock." International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 31(3).
Strauss, Mariya. 2018. "Pipeline Resistance Confronts Big Oil in the Bayou." New Labor Forum 27(2).
Tallbear, Kim. 2016. "Badass (Indigenous) Women Caretake Relations: #NoDAPL, #IdleNoMore, #BlackLivesMatter."
By Cormac Madden, 4/25/2019
This week's theme is "Indigenous Women, Social Media, & Pipeline Resistance." As such, many of the readings focused on the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock. Lane (2018) tells the story of a number of #NoDAPL activists through a series of personalized vignettes, which detail their personal perspectives and reasons for standing up against the pipeline. Tallbear (2016) also details womxn activists in Standing Rock, drawing connections between #NoDAPL, #IdleNoMore and #BlackLivesMatter. Karpus (2018) explores the tremendous amount of social media attention that was paid to the Standing Rock protestors– and how quickly that interest dwindled, drawing a connection with the Flint, Michigan water crisis. And Strauss (2018) details another pipeline fight that is following in the footsteps of #NoDAPL, the fight against the Bayou Bridge Pipeline in Lousiana. Finally, LaDuke (1992) discusses the militarization of young indigenous men and provides an indigenous feminist perspective on social movements, environmentalism, and militarism.
The readings for this week were empowering, depicting the battles of strong, indigenous women against seemingly insurmountable, hegemonically-entrenched foes. Each essay focuses on struggles in the present, and in doing so affirms indigenous existence and power while resisting mainstream practices which seek to restrain indigenous narratives to the past. The challenges faced by these activists are incredibly daunting, and the authors highlight that it is not just oil companies that are against them– it is the military, the media, and the entire government. It is the desire of this conglomeration to destroy Standing Rock and Bayou Lafourche, just as they have done to countless other ecosystems across our world, that makes the activists so easy to support yet unlikely to succeed, as Karpus (2018) writes. Unsurprisingly, the number of tragedies and inequalities told throughout these essays is massive. LaDuke (1992) highlights the outsized participation of indigenous Americans in the military, a saddening, government-engineered continuation of centuries of violence. And the pipeline fights highlight how, at a time when we are exploiting our Earth more than ever, it may seem like only indigenous people are fighting back.
Key Terms
Energy Transfer Partners (ETP): The company responsible for both the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Bayou Bridge Pipeline.
#NoDAPL: A hashtag used in the protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Bayou Bridge Pipeline: A proposed ETP oil pipeline in Bayou Lafourche, Louisiana.
References
Karpus, Chase. 2018. "Fifteen minutes of shame: Social media and 21st century environmental activism."
LaDuke, Winona. 1992. "An Indigenous Perspective on Feminism, Militarism and the Environment."
Lane, Temryss. 2018. "The frontline of refusal: indigenous women warriors of standing rock." International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 31(3).
Strauss, Mariya. 2018. "Pipeline Resistance Confronts Big Oil in the Bayou." New Labor Forum 27(2).
Tallbear, Kim. 2016. "Badass (Indigenous) Women Caretake Relations: #NoDAPL, #IdleNoMore, #BlackLivesMatter."
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