Sovereignty Matters: Perspectives on the Dakota Access Pipeline Project

A free panel discussion to learn diverse Native perspectives on the Dakota Access Pipeline will be held Monday, October 31, 3 p.m. in the Crosby Seminar Room, 240 Northrop at the University of Minnesota. It is being hosted by the Institute for Advanced Study.

The event is titled: Sovereignty Matters: Perspectives on the Dakota Access Pipeline Project. According to the on-line announcement:

This panel will present the various perspectives at stake in the DAPL case, from historical, legal, environmental, cultural, and personal viewpoints. How does this case speak to the state of American Indian sovereignty today? Does Federal ambivalence indicate an admission that Native/state relations require attention? What is at stake for Standing Rock and all Native nations?

The panelists will be:

• David Wilkins (American Indian Studies, CLA), a nationally recognized scholar of Native governance and constitutional development and Native/state relations.
• Michael Dockry (USDA Forest Service and Forest Resources, CFANS), who works in Indigenous community forestry, sustainability, and natural resource planning.
• Mark Bellcourt (Academic advisor, CFANS and CEHD), who has research interests in Indigenous worldviews of math and science and how they can be better integrated into the mainstream curriculum.
• C̣aƞte Máza Neil McKay (American Indian Studies, CLA) who teaches Dakota language, culture and history and is committed to language revitalization.
• Amber Annis (American Studies, CLA) who is a PhD candidate with a research focus on the relations of the Federal government with the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe, particularly over use of reservation land.
• Samantha Majhor (English, CLA) who is a PhD candidate completing a dissertation titled “The Sovereignty of Things in Native American Literature.”