Photographer Josué Rivas spent seven months living at Standing Rock, documenting the gathering force of Native Americans and their allies. He says it wasn’t just a protest; it was an awakening.
Americans saw the Indigenous struggle—the violence, stolen resources, colluding corporations and governments—that goes hand in hand with protecting the Earth.
The white male-centric colonial system is incapable of the leadership we need, and Indigenous knowledge is essential for the innovation that will follow this disruption.
“The Standing Rock I knew was not a mystical place with a uniform perspective. It was a complex place—an experiment in love, hope, courage, and solidarity.”
Last year’s water protectors garnered worldwide attention, but several pipeline fights—such as the Enbridge Sandpiper pipeline victory—got little public notice.
South Dakota’s Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate tribal members would rather share their food than sell it. But that gets in the way of building a local cash economy.