fbpx

Sioux Resistance: How the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota People Maintain Their Fight Against the United States for Sovereignty and Land

Head shot of Natalie Bean

Name: Natalie Bean
Major: History
Minor: French and Francophone Studies
Advisor: Dr. Jordan Biro Walters

This independent study seeks to determine how members of the Sioux Nation resisted two government projects infringing upon Sioux land and rights, the 1945 Pick Sloan Missouri Basin Program and the 2016 Dakota Access Pipeline, while also determining why the protest movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline is considered more successful than the former. The Pick Sloan Missouri Basin Program was a US Army Corps of Engineers project which altered the flow of the Missouri River and flooded considerable Sioux land in North and South Dakota. The Dakota Access Pipeline is an oil pipeline that currently runs less than a mile from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, continuing to threaten the Missouri River and Sioux drinking water by its presence. Both projects dishonor the agreed upon Sioux territory in the 1851 and 1868 Fort Laramie Treaties, although the US government considers the treaties annulled. This study determines major forms of resistance for the Sioux, such as legal efforts, negotiations, social media presence, youth action, and communal resistance. It contributes to discussions of Native resistance, Sioux resistance, and exposes the continuance of US colonization practices against American Indians in modern times. These subjects are important to recognize and combat against.

Posted in Comments Enabled, Independent Study, Symposium 2022 on April 29, 2022.


10 responses to “Sioux Resistance: How the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota People Maintain Their Fight Against the United States for Sovereignty and Land”

  1. Kate Beutner says:

    Natalie, such vital questions you’re exploring! I’d love to know if you think other recent First Nations protests (such as the Wet’suwet’en protests in BC) are following a similar model compared to earlier protests in Canada, for example.

  2. Courtney Retzler says:

    Excellent project! Very informative and hopeful for these nations!

  3. Courtney Retzler says:

    Excellent project! Very informative and hopeful for these nations!

  4. Howard says:

    Great study and poster!

  5. Hannah Groetsch says:

    Great job Natalie!!

  6. Ed Retzler says:

    A very interesting topic. And nice work on the poster Natalie!

  7. Carly McWilliams says:

    Thanks so much for sharing your research, Natalie! I enjoyed hearing all about it at the poster presentation. Great display of a year of hard work!!!

  8. Chan Sok Park says:

    Thank you for the excellent poster on the interesting topic, Natalie! Best wishes for your post-graduation plan. – Prof. Park

  9. Andrew Retzler says:

    Excellent work on a VERY important topic! There’s still a lot of work to be done and a lot of learning on the part of non-Native individuals—something I see firsthand in Minnesota.

  10. April Gamble says:

    Bravo, Natalie. I am so happy to read about your work.

Related Posts

Lily Bulman '25

Theatre and dance and global media and digital studies major presents interactive shadow puppet Independent Study performance

Bri Mosley '24 at her senior recital

Music major draws from historical lows to hit musical highs in a soulful self-designed recital

Levi Gainer '24

Computer science major builds a robotic mouse for an algorithm maze


Related Areas of Study

History

Critically examine events and societies of the past and learn to tell the stories future generations need to know

Major Minor

French & Francophone Studies

French language, literature and culture with study abroad and outside-the-classroom immersion opportunites

Major Minor

Connect with Wooster