Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

4 Important ings To Keep In Mind About Standing Rock

05/12/2016

School at Oceti Sakowin Camp, Standing Rock | Photo: Oceti Sakowin Camp/Barbara J. Miner, some rights reserved

Commentary: Finally, some good news out of 2016. That exclamation on Facebook seemed to sum up the public response Sunday to the Army Corps of Engineers' announcement that it wouldn't allow an easement for an oil pipeline across lands held sacred by the Standing Rock Sioux people.

And indeed, the announcement was cause for jubilation among pipeline opponents, whether at the various encampments or in communities around the world.

But the issue isn't over.

That's not intended to downplay the significance of Sunday's announcement: the Water Protectors at Standing Rock have every right to celebrate this as a victory, and as vindication for their cause. But as the late environmentalist David Brower was fond of saying, in environmental activism all victories are temporary; only the defeats are permanent.

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSend EmailMoreCommentPin on PinterestShare on LinkedInShare on Google+

--

--

That means that for pipeline opponents' win this weekend to be maintained, they'll need to stay vigilant. And in that spirit, here are a few things for supporters of the movement at Standing Rock to keep in mind in the months ahead.

Credit where due

Less than an hour after the news of the Corps' announcement hit social media, names of prominent non-Native figures started being mentioned as deserving credit for the win. Some partisans of Senator Bernie Sanders, who lent conspicuous public support to the Standing Rock cause, started claiming credit for the Senator. The same is true for other Democratic politicians, from Al Franken and Tulsi Gabbard to President Barack Obama.

That last deflection of credit is a little troublesome. Some analysts have correctly pointed out that earlier action by Obama, whether to stop the pipeline or help protect activists from police violence, would likely have come in the form of an Executive Order or other mandate that could have been retracted with the stroke of a pen by the next president. The slower route, of using the Army Corps of Engineers' molasses-like compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, will almost certainly prove harder to reverse than an Executive Order.

But the President could certainly have done more to rein in police excesses, even by using his bully pulpit to call for cooler thinking on the part of law enforcement.

More about Oil Companies

U.S. Carbon Emissions Are Rising Again

Finding California Oil Pipelines Near Your Home Not So Easy

Fracking Still Unregulated Despite Quake Connection

As Native activist Lee Sprague, who has been organizing cold water rescue efforts at Standing Rock, said in a public Facebook post on Monday,

President Obama gets no credit for coddling the DAPL Oil Police. When our peoples and allies were attacked by dogs, Obama was silent. Obama has said we are to be evicted today. Why doesnt Obama evict the Oil Company instead? This is the right question to be asked.

But it's just as problematic to grant credit to Sanders, Gabbard, or Franken - a sentiment with which I suspect those three would agree. The Corps' decision was prompted by an inspiring, sustained, often heroic campaign sparked by the Standing Rock Sioux. It is the Standing Rock Sioux that deserve credit for this win, along with the thousands of Native allies who converged on the scene to stand with the Standing Rock Sioux. Of secondary but still crucial importance were the hundreds of thousands of non-Native people who stood with Standing Rock, whether by traveling to the encampments, coordinating logistical support, or donating funds and needed items.

The credit, in other words, goes to a startlingly broad mass movement led by the Standing Rock Sioux and their Native allies. We non-Native people may be in the habit of taking a whole lot of things that rightly belong to Native people. A good way to start to reverse that trend might be to not coopt credit for the win at Standing Rock.

The pipeline isn't killed

It's easy to find comments on social media along the lines of the Black Snake is killed! (The Black Snake being a figure in Sioux prophecy that many Water Protectors interpret as representing the pipeline.) But what people say in a moment of understandable exuberance isn't always the most accurate assessment. Again, from Lee Sprague's Facebook post:

The DAPL Oil Police are bringing in more troops and convoys of militaries vehicles. They are not stopping construction of the pipeline, they are not disassembling any drilling operations under the Missouri River, or Lake Oahe. There are more lights, more helicopters, dust croppers, and black militarized drones flying overhead.

The owners of the Dakota Access Pipeline project, Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) and Sunoco Logistics Partners (SXL), admitted in a press release Sunday that they have no intention of complying with the Corps' decision not to grant them an easement:

As stated all along, ETP and SXL are fully committed to ensuring that this vital project is brought to completion and fully expect to complete construction of the pipeline without any additional rerouting in and around Lake Oahe. Nothing this Administration has done today changes that in any way.

The companies claim that the Obama administration has abandoned the rule of law in favor of currying favor with a narrow and extreme political constituency. The phrase abandoned the rule of law, aside from being a bit of a clich among far-right circles to describe situations in which the government enforces laws the speaker doesnt like, may well signal the pipeline companies' intention to drag the Corps into court.

Tents along the Cannonball River, Standing Rock | Photo: Oceti Sakowin Camp/Ahman Dhaliwal
LINK: https://www.kcet.org/redefine/4-important-things-to-keep-in-mind-about...
See more stories from kcet

Most recent headlines

04/08/2024

Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....

03/06/2024

Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...

28/04/2024

Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with URSA Broadcast G2

Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...

27/04/2024

L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher E. Kubasik Discusses 1Q24 On CNBC's "Closing Bell: Overtime"

On April 26, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher E. Kubasik joined CNBC's Mor...

27/04/2024

Audinate Adds Major New Features to Dante Connect

PORTLAND, Oregon Audinate Group Limited, the developer of the Dante AV-over-IP solution, announced significant new additions to Dante Connect, its cloud-based D...

27/04/2024

Bell Media Launches New Portfolio of FAST Channels

TORONTO Bell Media has launched 10 English and French-language FAST channels featuring entertainment, factual, news, and sports programming. The new free stream...

27/04/2024

Study: Broadcast TV Evening News Avoids Serious Economic Issues

An extensive new analysis of the news segments in the broadcast evening news programs of ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS has found that broadcasters devoted most of their...

27/04/2024

Hughes Opens Manufacturing Facility and Private 5G Incubation Center in Maryland

GERMANTOWN, Md. EchoStar's Hughes Network Systems has opened a new manufacturing facility and private 5G incubation center in Germantown, Maryland....

27/04/2024

Broadcasting Legend Harry Pappas Dead At 78

Harry Pappas, one of three brothers who founded Pappas Telecasting Companies in 1971, died April 24. He was 78 years old....

27/04/2024

Televisa Selects Synamedia For Broadcast Distribution Overhaul

ATLANTA and LONDON Mexican telecommunications and broadcast company Televisa has selected Synamedia for an overhaul of its broadcast distribution....

27/04/2024

Participate in the Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry

Participate in the Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024 0 Comments By participating in this surve...

27/04/2024

SDVI Rally Access Workstation Earns Two Top Awards at 2024 NAB Show

SDVI Rally Access Workstation Earns Two Top Awards at 2024 NAB Show Brie Clayton April 26, 2024 0 Comments SDVI, the leading platform provider for clo...

27/04/2024

Berklee's Music and Health Institute Launches Community Health Musician Certificate

Berklee's Music and Health Institute Launches Community Health Musician Cert...

27/04/2024

Charter Reports Higher Q1 Profits Despite Broadband, Video Losses

Charter Communications reported higher first-quarter profits despite continued cord-cutting and competition for broadband customers....

27/04/2024

Environmental Groups Aim To Make Unscripted TV More Sustainable

Two environmentally-focused groups are partnering to engage the unscripted TV world in finding better ways to address climate change. Reality of Change is an ec...

27/04/2024

Sarah Garcia Named Weekend Anchor at Telemundo 40 in Texas

Sarah Garcia has been promoted to weekend anchor at KTLM McAllen, Texas, known as Telemundo 40. Starting April 27, she will anchor Noticias Telemundo 40 weekend...

27/04/2024

CBS Sports Kicks Off FAST Channel for UEFA Champions League on Pluto TV

CBS Sports said it launched a new 24-hour free, ad supported streaming television (FAST) channel devoted to the UEFA Champions League....

27/04/2024

Brian Roberts's Pay Rose To $35 Million at Comcast

Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts received $35.4 million in compensation in 2023, up 11% from the previous year, according to a proxy statement filed by th...

27/04/2024

John Lithgow Goes Back to School in Art Happens Here'

Art Happens Here With John Lithgow, which sees the actor study dance, ceramics, silk-screen printing and vocal jazz with students in Los Angeles, debuts on PBS ...

27/04/2024

FETV Wants Upfront Buyers Seeking Cable Viewers To Join Its Family

Remember Leave It to Beaver? Bewitched? Dragnet? When cable ratings were rising?...

27/04/2024

Catchy Comedy Features Gomer Pyle, USMC' Weekend Marathon

Next up for the weekend binge at Catchy Comedy is Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Every weekend, Catchy Comedy features The Catchy Binge, a marathon of a classic sitcom....

26/04/2024

Sundance Film Festival CDMX 2024 kicks off today at Cinpolis

Sundance Film Festival CDMX 2024 kicks-off today with screenings in 5 theaters in Mexico City and the opening-night film, FRIDA, directed by Carla Guti rrez...

26/04/2024

Interview: Lourdes Portillo, Director of Las madres de la Plaza de Mayo, La Ofrenda

[Editor's Note: This interview is part of a larger feature about the women d...

26/04/2024

Career insights instead of everyday school life

Once again this year, SGL Carbon opened its doors to interested children and young people. On the occasion of the German Girls and Boys Day, which took place on...

26/04/2024

L3Harris Technologies Reports Strong First Quarter 2024 Results, Increases 2024 Profitability Guidance

Orders1 of $5.5 billion; book-to-bill of 1.06x Revenue of $5.2 billion, up 17%,...

26/04/2024

What Makes A Network Resilient?

Five Considerations For Communications Modernization In The 21st Century In the digital-enabled battlespace, the Joint Force needs to shoot, move and communica...

26/04/2024

CBS Sports Launches New Free Streaming Channel

CBS Sports has launched Champions League as a new, 24-hour streaming channel that will serve as the year-round destination for nonstop highlights of the UEFA ...

26/04/2024

Roku Streaming Homes Hit 81.6M

Despite tough competition in the streaming space, Roku reported solid results in Q1 2024, beating revenue expectations, with total net revenue up 19% YoY to $88...

26/04/2024

Sarah Farrell Named General Manager Of Pinewood Toronto Studios

LONDON AND TORONTO Pinewood Toronto Studios has appointed Sarah Farrell as general manager of the Studios in downtown Toronto....

26/04/2024

Quantum to Offer Advanced Filesharing Technology and Performance in StorNext and Myriad Solutions

Quantum to Offer Advanced Filesharing Technology and Performance in StorNext and...

26/04/2024

FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2024 entries and introduces new Emerging Talent' award

FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2024 entries and introduces new Emerging Talen...

26/04/2024

Picture Shop Announces Chris Evans as Head of Unscripted

Picture Shop Announces Chris Evans as Head of Unscripted Brie Clayton April 26, 2024 0 Comments Picture Shop announced Chris Evans will lead Unscripte...

26/04/2024

Participate in a Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry

Participate in a Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024 0 Comments By participating in this survey,...

26/04/2024

Hi Barbie! Mattel Launching First FAST Channels on Samsung TV Plus

Toy maker Mattel said it is working with Samsung to launch its first free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels later this year....

26/04/2024

Marty Moe Named President Of Trusted Media Brands

Trusted Media Brands (TMB) said it named Marty Moe as president....

26/04/2024

Ron Howard Directs Jim Henson Documentary for Disney Plus

Ron Howard is the director on Jim Henson Idea Man, a documentary that premieres on Disney Plus May 31. Henson of course created Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big...

26/04/2024

Kraken Skate Away From RSN Root Sports for Deals With Tegna, Amazon

The ice continues to melt under the regional sports network business as the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League have made a long-term deal to broadcast...

26/04/2024

Warner Bros. Discovery Launches Olli First-Party Data Platform

Heading into the upfronts, Warner Bros. Discovery said it launched Olli, a first-party data platform advertiser can use for converged, targeted advertising camp...

26/04/2024

The Equalizer' Gets Season 5 on CBS

CBS has renewed the drama The Equalizer, which will see season five on in 2024-2025. Queen Latifah stars....

26/04/2024

The CW Inks New Deal for Miss USA, Miss Teen USA

The CW has entered into an exclusive multiyear broadcast partnership for the Miss USA Pageant and the Miss Teen USA Pageant. The 73rd Miss USA Pageant will air ...

26/04/2024

Fuse Urging Young Viewers To Vote With Blunt Campaign

Fuse Media isn't mincing words in a campaign urging its young viewers to register and participate in the 2024 elections....

26/04/2024

Neil Gaiman's Sandman' Universe Expands With Dead Boy Detectives'

Dead Boy Detectives, a series from Neil Gaiman about a detective agency staffed by ghosts, debuts on Netflix April 25. George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri are in t...

26/04/2024

The Story Collective opens largest film and TV studio in the heart of London

The Story Collective has gradually repurposed the former Mortlake Brewery to include production offices, workshops and sound stages By Matthew Corrigan Publi...

26/04/2024

Richard Perkett joins Amagi as chief product officer

Perkett joins the company following a 25 year career in product management, product marketing, engineering and user experience (UX) across multiple industries ...

26/04/2024

Teradek Announces Smaller More Robust Built-in Antennas f...

Teradek, the industry leader in wireless video transmitters and receivers, announced today the launch of new Bolt 6 LT 750 and Bolt 6 Monitor Module 750 RX with...

26/04/2024

Amagi Names Richard Perkett Chief Product Officer

NEW YORK Amagi has appointed Richard Perkett chief product officer (CPO)....

26/04/2024

NAB Board Election Results Announced

WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced the results of the 2024 NAB Radio and Television Board of Directors elections. The...

26/04/2024

Mattel to Launch First FAST Channels on Samsung TV Plus

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. & NEW YORK Mattel has announced a deal to launch its first three 24/7 free ad supported streaming (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus, Samsung...

26/04/2024

NextGen TV Launches In Portland, Maine

PORTLAND, Maine Viewers here can now receive the NextGen TV signals of five local stations with the launch of ATSC 3.0 service from host station WPFO, which is ...