Protesters in New York City (Source) The Guardian
Protesters in Chicago (Source) USA Today
The campsite near the pipeline (Source) Fox News
"Alcatraz is not an island. It's an inspiration. It's the idea that you can recapture your own destiny, and self-determine your own future."
~ Richard Oakes, Mohawk and Alcatraz leader, 1970
The plight of the Natives were now visible to the world. In 2007, the United Nations passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigounous people affirming their basic liberties.
"[Indigounous people have] the right to the full enjoyment... of all human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognized in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and international human rights law."
~An excerpt from the Declaration.
2016: Dakota Access Pipeline Protests
Protesters in New York City (Source) The Guardian
Protesters in Chicago (Source) USA Today
The campsite near the pipeline (Source) Fox News
In 2016, the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests (#NoDAPL) was organized to protest an oil pipeline being built through the Missouri River that would harm the water of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, garnering global attention. President Obama banned the construction but the Trump administration overturned this action. However, recently courts banned the pipeline’s permits.
(Source) ABC News
"This validates everything the Tribe has been saying all along about the risk of oil spills to the people of Standing Rock. The Obama administration had it right when it moved to deny the permits in 2016, and this is the second time the Court has ruled that the government ran afoul of environmental laws when it permitted this pipeline. We will continue to see this through until DAPL has finally been shut down."
~ Jan Hasselman, Earthjustice attorney
Dr. LaNada War Jack (Source) Seeker VR (0:18)
Although laws were passed to support Indian sovereignty and self-determination, Indians today still combat high poverty, substandard education, substance abuse, and a loss of land to corporate development.
(Source) Pew Research Center
(Source) Pew Research Center
(Source) Sunrise House American Addction Centers