Abstract
The European colonization and its aftermath affected the state of the Native American people in general and the Great Sioux Nation in particular. Yet, the tribes managed to maintain their unique culture and historical heritage. Lakota and Dakota’s people living in the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe still speak their language, belong to their native religion, and practice their sacred ceremonies. The Tribe is federally recognized and has its government and infrastructure, including schools, a hospital, and several local businesses. Recently, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe gained a lot of public attention due to the Dakota Access Pipeline situation. Members of the Tribe, accompanied by other activists, are currently struggling to protect from intrusion the land of its ancestors. Sioux people have a long history of fighting the U.S. government with varying degrees of success. Despite the permanent suppression and disregard of the authorities, preserving the native lands and culture remains essential and today it is the turn of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to hold the fort. The essay aims at analyzing the modern way of living and current issues of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and its perspectives for further development.
Introduction
Centuries ago, before Europeans came to North America, there were hundreds of native tribes with distinct cultures, languages, religions, and customs. Not only did the colonists bring diseases that were fatal for the local population, but they also caused numerous wars for territory and natural resources. To reach a certain semblance of peace, Native American tribes all around the continent had to enter several treaties, which, however, were constantly violated by the newcomers. The examples of such violations keep on happening today. During the last few weeks, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has gained a lot of publicity due to the Dakota Access Pipeline situation. Members of the Tribe, accompanied by other activists, are currently struggling to protect the land of its ancestors from intrusion.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is federally recognized, residing in The Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, located both in South and North Dakota. The total land area of the reservation is 2.3 million acres (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, n.d.). People of the reservation are members of Lakota and Dakota nations, most commonly known as Sioux. According to the official website of Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (n.d.), it embraces the “bands of Hunkpapa and Blackfeet of the Lakota Nation, and Hunkpatinas and Cuthead bands of the Yanktonais of The Dakota Nation” (para. 9). The names “Lakota” and “Dakota” can both be translated as “ally.” They originally indicated the two dialects of the Sioux language (Gagnon, 2011, p.5). Lakota/Dakota is used within the tribe along with English. Religiously, the greatest part of the Standing Rock Tribe belongs to the Native American Church. Sioux people have a long history of fighting the U.S. government with varying degrees of success. Despite the permanent suppression and disregard of the authorities, preserving the native lands and culture remains essential and today it is the turn of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to hold the fort.
Historical Background
As it was mentioned before, the people of Standing Rock Sioux Tribe belong to Lakota and Dakota Nations, the two largest councils of the Great Sioux Nation. The origin of the Sioux culture goes back to 1300. It emerged within the settlements near the headstream of the Mississippi River. Gregory Gagnon, a professor in Indian Studies, states in his book: “Sioux cultural and political similarities gradually differentiated in this ancestral homeland as portions of Sioux moved westward and southward and developed increasingly different lifestyles” (Gagnon, 2011, p.6). As far back as the sixteenth century, three different identities could be distinguished. According to the professor, they were: Dakota/Santee, Dakota/Yankton, and Yanktonai, and Lakota/Teton (Gagnon, 2011, p.6). Each tribe had its own culture, spoke its specific dialect of the Siouan language, and could be subdivided into smaller tribes or bands. The Great Sioux Nation was continuously changing throughout history. The lifestyle of its tribes changed under the pressure of the European colonists and so did the customs. In modern days, Sioux tribes are scattered around the Northern part of the United States and Canada and have a population of about 126,000 (Gagnon, 2011, p.5). Many of them prefer to live in reservations.
The Standing Rock Sioux reservation is one of the biggest in the United States. It was originally established as part of the Great Sioux Reservation that was broken up into smaller reservations by the Act of 1889 (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, n.d., para. 2). The Sioux occupied large territories and fought for centuries to protect them from European colonists, who were looking for gold and other valuable resources. Native American peoples refused to sell their sacred lands, such as the Black Hills, to foreigners and move to reservations. However, despite some successful battles, they eventually lost them in consequence of the violation of the treaty by the U.S. government (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, n.d., para. 6). This particular episode led to the continuous conflict between the Sioux Nation and the government of the United States.
Modern Days of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is currently situated in two states: North Dakota and South Dakota. It operates under a constitution approved on April 24, 1959, by its own elected council members, under the auspices of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, n.d., para. 4). It has its Tribal Government, consisting of a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, and 14 council members. The administration is situated in Fort Yates. On its reservation website, Standing Rock people explain: “The tribe operates similar to a corporation, which may make business decisions, hire employees, grants business licenses, and operates corporate subsidies to develop the tribal economy” (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, n.d, para. 4). The existing system is constantly developing and strives for modernization.
The Tribe’s economy is based on agriculture. Apart from cattle ranching and farming, Standing Rock has several local businesses, such as cafes, cable TV, beauty salon, inns, video stores, and so on (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, n.d.). Local casinos play an important role both economically and as entertainment. Educational services are provided by elementary schools, secondary schools, and kindergartens in every community. Sitting Bull College offers Associate Degrees including Human Services, Education, and Business Management. Sitting Bull College has a “strong environmental science program” (Hendrickson, Black Elk, & Faller, 2016, p.1). Various sports activities and social events, like the powwow, rodeos, and races, are organized throughout the year.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe aspires to develop its community economically and educationally to remain self-sufficient. It is planning to establish its bank, utilities, and telephone company (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, n.d.). At the same time, preservation of historical heritage and culture is still of great importance for the Standing Rock people and has to be considered during planning and decision making.
Current Challenges
One of the major issues the tribe is facing is water supply. Organizing the proper system of water supply to the reservation has been challenging due to numerous reasons, including geographical location. This problem does deeply affect the quality of life of the common people. “Many residents currently depend on poorly constructed or low-capacity individual wells or have water hauled to underground cisterns” (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, n.d., para. 9). More to that, because the main economic occupation of the tribe is agriculture, the water resources are of vital importance to its further development. In these circumstances, no surprise building the North Dakota pipeline triggered a wave of protests and became public. According to the project, the Dakota Access Pipeline would cross the historical lands of several reservations and would endanger the existing sacred places and cultural sites. Furthermore, as well as with other oil pipelines, it is potentially harmful to the local environment. As the news spread, multiple activists started to join the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in its protest. CNN correspondents noticed the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, the Great Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, and the Tulalip Tribes, the Gay Pride flags, and the sign, saying “Muslims Standing with Standing Rock Sioux” (Grinberg, Parks, Ravitz, & Sidner, 2016, para. 4). It is not the first time in Native American history that the U.S. government violates the agreements and tries to take over the tribe’s territories. The disconcertment of the native community is being ignored and dealt with by law enforcement. Dave Archambault II, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman, commented on the situation: “The aggressive acts of these forces have caused severe injuries and endangered the safety of thousands of peaceful protestors who share our goal of protecting the water.” (Grinberg et al., 2016, para. 5). More than one hundred activists have been arrested, which, however, did not stop the protestors, but led to even more clashes. Despite the measures taken by the government, people remain strong and ready to fight further, they are “hunkering down and prepping for a prolonged standoff through what’s sure to be a harsh winter” (Grinberg et al., 2016, para.7). Keeping their territories the way they are is extremely important for the well-being of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
Apart from environmental issues, unemployment and housing are genuine concerns of the community. The current unemployment rate is 63%.2 (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, n.d, para. 9). The Tribe is looking for various grants for building family homes and is planning to construct new apartment complexes at the earliest opportunity.
Conclusion
The European colonization and its aftermath affected the state of the Native American peoples in general and the Great Sioux Nation in particular. For many centuries, the indigenous population has been losing its territories and its people. However, the proud nation managed to maintain its unique culture. The sacred knowledge is being handed down from generation to generation, from parents to their children. The Native American tribes possess a value system that is different from the remainder of the American population and, perhaps, the remainder of the world. They might not have a progressive infrastructure, but they aim to combine modern development with conservation of traditions. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe faces a few good challenges, such as adequate water supply and Dakota Access pipeline protests, high levels of unemployment, and housing issues. Nevertheless, the potential of economic, educational, and social growth is quite evident and the prosperity of the Tribe is expected.
References
- Gagnon G.O. (2011) Culture and Customs of the Sioux Indians. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
- Grinberg E., Parks B, Ravitz J., & Sidner S. (2016). What’s next in the Dakota Access Pipeline protests? CNN.
- Hendrickson J. R., Black Elk L., & Faller T. (2016). Development of the Renewal on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation Project. Rangelands, 38(1), 1-2.
- Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (n.d.). History. Web.