Our History Is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance
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- Create Date：2023-03-16 09:52:13
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Nick Estes
- ISBN：1788737296
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Summary
How two centuries of Indigenous resistance created the movement proclaiming “Water is life”
In 2016， a small protest encampment at the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota， initially established to block construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline， grew to be the largest Indigenous protest movement in the twenty-first century。 Water Protectors knew this battle for native sovereignty had already been fought many times before， and that， even after the encampment was gone， their anticolonial struggle would continue。 In Our History Is the Future， Nick Estes traces traditions of Indigenous resistance that led to the #NoDAPL movement。 Our History Is the Future is at once a work of history， a manifesto， and an intergenerational story of resistance。
Reviews
Michaela Seah
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essential reading on the history of the indigenous struggle for liberation
Leila Braun
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I read this book right after reading Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's An Indigenous People's History of the United States。 Overall， I found Estes' book to be far more informative and engaging than that of Ortiz。 I really appreciated its emphasis on Indigenous resistance （as opposed to victimization）， found it to be thoroughly researched and well-written， and thought it offered a nuanced historical narrative of how #NoDAPL relates to centuries of Indigenous resistance and organizing。 Read this book！ I read this book right after reading Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's An Indigenous People's History of the United States。 Overall， I found Estes' book to be far more informative and engaging than that of Ortiz。 I really appreciated its emphasis on Indigenous resistance （as opposed to victimization）， found it to be thoroughly researched and well-written， and thought it offered a nuanced historical narrative of how #NoDAPL relates to centuries of Indigenous resistance and organizing。 Read this book！ 。。。more
Ellie Richardson
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Very interesting and very relevant。 Didn’t love the style of writing it was very much like “this happened and then happened and this happened”。 Might dive back in to specific chapters but I wasn’t super engaged for most of the book。 Glad I read tho as generally speaking I learn a lot。
Emily
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4。5 stars。 An important book that everyone should read。
figgy
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very dense but incredibly informative， a recommendation for anyone interested in us imperialism and indigenous struggle
Jeffrey Pedro
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（4。5/5） “Under capitalism， neither Democrat nor Republican can save Indigenous lands or Black and Indigenous lives。” While not exhaustive， Estes has gathered invaluable pieces of Indigenous history and compiled them together into a work that examines the past， present， and future of Indigenous resistance。 Estes lays the foundation for understanding the fight against imperialism and colonialism in relation to: broken treaties， Indian boarding schools， erasure of Indigenous voices and identity， an （4。5/5） “Under capitalism， neither Democrat nor Republican can save Indigenous lands or Black and Indigenous lives。” While not exhaustive， Estes has gathered invaluable pieces of Indigenous history and compiled them together into a work that examines the past， present， and future of Indigenous resistance。 Estes lays the foundation for understanding the fight against imperialism and colonialism in relation to: broken treaties， Indian boarding schools， erasure of Indigenous voices and identity， and various pipeline projects recently/ currently in development that highlight the negative environmental and social issues of capitalism。 This book also describes with graphic detail the police brutality against Water Protectors during the Dakota Access Pipeline （DAPL） protests in 2016， making a strong argument for critically examining the role of law enforcement。 。。。more
scarlett
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Highly recommend for anyone interested in environmental health and social justice
Jill
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Appreciate the library display for making me pick this one up！ Gives very in depth historical context but wish it had a bit more reporting on present day （expected bit more based on title？）
Liz
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Dry， but incredibly illuminating and well worth the time investment of reading it。 Take it slow and savor the perspective。
Heather
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Really important history and current events。 It's so obvious that the United States doesn't consider the Native American Nations to be actual nations and just walks all over them。 Horrendous。 Really important history and current events。 It's so obvious that the United States doesn't consider the Native American Nations to be actual nations and just walks all over them。 Horrendous。 。。。more
Katy Henley
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an amazing books which explains the context surrounding the events at standing rock in 2016 in great detail。 i think its a hugely necessary book as it leaves you with no doubt about the horrendous treatment of Native Americans in the US。
Rishab
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Wonderful book， and it’s less about the resistance at Standing rock than the long-standing history of Indigenous resistance for liberation against a settler colonial enterprise。 Inspiring and a historical perspective we need if we are to understand environmental justice and indigenous sovereignty。
Priscilla
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A remarkable book that opened my eyes to the long history of indigenous resistance and the largest movement at Standing Rock against the Dakota Access Pipeline。
Jean Nicholson
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Not an easy read realizing the ways we tried to eliminate the indigenous people who were here first。 But a valuable history lesson in listening to a very different perspective。
Jordan Lombard
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This is such an important book， it’s a must read for all Americans。 A concise history lesson about the stealing of Indigenous land by the white people that began hundreds of years ago and continues to this very day。 A story of literal genocide happening over hundreds of years within the United States。 America can’t be great again because we were never great to begin with and we’ve still not dragged our sorry ass out of the racist mud pit。This is a sad story looking at the US government and what This is such an important book， it’s a must read for all Americans。 A concise history lesson about the stealing of Indigenous land by the white people that began hundreds of years ago and continues to this very day。 A story of literal genocide happening over hundreds of years within the United States。 America can’t be great again because we were never great to begin with and we’ve still not dragged our sorry ass out of the racist mud pit。This is a sad story looking at the US government and what we’ve done。 It’s very angering， knowing we are still refusing to do anything， that our “apologies“ are so feeble as to be buried deep in another document and unheard， that we boycotted UN meetings about racism（how childish can our government and media get？！）， that we finally acknowledged stealing the Black Hills only to offer money in their place（the Black Hills were never for sale！）， and that we do everything possible to save the land of white settlers but flood Indigenous land and seek to put oil pipelines through it without their consent。 It’s disgusting is what it is。 The fact that we boycotted those meetings on racism in the 1970s speaks volumes all by itself。 。。。more
Adi
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A really powerful read and important layout of settler colonial history of the land we’re currently in。 I also believe it’s key to fully understand how immoral and nonsensical the discourse around the law is， when in reality the idea of current legality and the decision to uphold it is simply abiding by a white supremacist and settler colonial project which is what the constitution， the treaties with First Nations， and continuous rulings have always aimed to do - nothing else！ Native people’s co A really powerful read and important layout of settler colonial history of the land we’re currently in。 I also believe it’s key to fully understand how immoral and nonsensical the discourse around the law is， when in reality the idea of current legality and the decision to uphold it is simply abiding by a white supremacist and settler colonial project which is what the constitution， the treaties with First Nations， and continuous rulings have always aimed to do - nothing else！ Native people’s continuous resistance to colonial powers is incredibly admirable and contagious and reading about it and understanding their histories always fills me with so much hope。 。。。more
Fran
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Read as part of One Book South Dakota。 This is an interesting compilation of the history of indigenous resistance in America。 I did find myself wishing that there was a bit more "story" for some aspects， but overall， a very informative read。 Read as part of One Book South Dakota。 This is an interesting compilation of the history of indigenous resistance in America。 I did find myself wishing that there was a bit more "story" for some aspects， but overall， a very informative read。 。。。more
Alexw
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Never has the phrase， "history is fiction-Waterson" been more apt in this wrongly telling of history。 Time and time again， this fictional novel refers to the Laramie Treaty of 1868 in which the indigenous people broke when they violated Article eleven of the treaty when they kept killing railroad workers。 Therefore， that treaty is null and void and all arguments about reparations are illogical。Fast forward to the 1973 AIM movement in which the author conveniently forgets the failed attempt to bu Never has the phrase， "history is fiction-Waterson" been more apt in this wrongly telling of history。 Time and time again， this fictional novel refers to the Laramie Treaty of 1868 in which the indigenous people broke when they violated Article eleven of the treaty when they kept killing railroad workers。 Therefore， that treaty is null and void and all arguments about reparations are illogical。Fast forward to the 1973 AIM movement in which the author conveniently forgets the failed attempt to burn the Custer County Courthouse down。 In his acknowledgments （page 259） he suddenly calls the small town of Chamberlain， South Dakota a white supremist border town with no proof of this untruth to be written。 He dishes the Emmy Award winner， Stephen Ambrose's fine novel， Undaunted Courage whose meticulous research shows that the Sioux where the only people who gave Lewis and Clark trouble。 The fact that Custer only had the Crows men for scouts was because the Sioux had just kicked the Crow out of the South Dakota is also conveniently not listed。 I found it fascinating that the author could write about the suffering of indigenous people in Soth Dakota while he conveniently lives in New Mexico。Lastly while he states the problems poorly， he also offers no solutions to the problems。 。。。more
Tara Engel
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This is a hard book to review。 This book is amazing for hearing the history of events you are not taught in school。 It is however formatted so packed with the facts and citings that it took away from my ability to want to keep picking it up。 Storytelling is a huge part of the Lakota culture and I would of liked to have read more of the elders retelling of their stories and the stories of the younger generation who chose to resist DAPL。
Brad
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This work focuses on legal and armed struggles in tandem and exposes the workings of colonialism in both， with particular focus on the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty as the harbinger of an ongoing legacy。In spite of the title， the DAPL is mentioned relatively briefly， usually as a backdrop to the historical analysis in this work。 It is touched on to connect that history to more recent struggles， tracing political （and genealogical） lines。A powerful， visceral account and condemnation of primitive accum This work focuses on legal and armed struggles in tandem and exposes the workings of colonialism in both， with particular focus on the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty as the harbinger of an ongoing legacy。In spite of the title， the DAPL is mentioned relatively briefly， usually as a backdrop to the historical analysis in this work。 It is touched on to connect that history to more recent struggles， tracing political （and genealogical） lines。A powerful， visceral account and condemnation of primitive accumulation， connecting the struggle against settler colonialism to the struggle against capitalism in a way that far too many contemporary parties fail to do。 。。。more
Jibrilus Bibliothécus
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（🇨🇵 plus bas） A good book to see the other side of the story， and what has happened since the big battles。 Because no， the struggle is not over。 Racist colonialism is still the official policy， and native nations are still resisting it。 Read it : history too needs decolonizing。 Un bon bouquin pour avoir l'autre version des faits， et ce qui s'est passé depuis les grandes batailles。 Parce que non， la lutte n'est pas éteinte。 Le colonialisme raciste est toujours la doctrine officielle， et les natio （🇨🇵 plus bas） A good book to see the other side of the story， and what has happened since the big battles。 Because no， the struggle is not over。 Racist colonialism is still the official policy， and native nations are still resisting it。 Read it : history too needs decolonizing。 Un bon bouquin pour avoir l'autre version des faits， et ce qui s'est passé depuis les grandes batailles。 Parce que non， la lutte n'est pas éteinte。 Le colonialisme raciste est toujours la doctrine officielle， et les nations natives lui résistent toujours。 Lisez-le : l'histoire aussi à besoin de se décoloniser。 。。。more
Eve
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Taught me history I didn't know， but had heard about here & there。I'll have to write about it later， but basically Missouri river land struggle， cultural genocide， fight for UN recognition & the court of public opinion。I need to look into kinship relationship vocabulary & gentle parenting because when adoptees rights people talk sometimes it's like yay youth liberation but fascists use family preservation rhetoric too deny youth liberation。 Like I'm still learning the ropes on how to express tha Taught me history I didn't know， but had heard about here & there。I'll have to write about it later， but basically Missouri river land struggle， cultural genocide， fight for UN recognition & the court of public opinion。I need to look into kinship relationship vocabulary & gentle parenting because when adoptees rights people talk sometimes it's like yay youth liberation but fascists use family preservation rhetoric too deny youth liberation。 Like I'm still learning the ropes on how to express that nuance 。。。more
Jane
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Quite possibly the most depressing book I have ever read。 And horrifying because it's history。 A litany of the endless crimes against Native Americans committed by settlers and the U。S。 government。 And it's still happening。Four stars instead of five because the narrative was slow going in parts。 So many facts and not always enough passion。 I struggled to get through the book。 I also hoped for more specifically about the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline。 "#NoDAPL was also a struggle over Quite possibly the most depressing book I have ever read。 And horrifying because it's history。 A litany of the endless crimes against Native Americans committed by settlers and the U。S。 government。 And it's still happening。Four stars instead of five because the narrative was slow going in parts。 So many facts and not always enough passion。 I struggled to get through the book。 I also hoped for more specifically about the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline。 "#NoDAPL was also a struggle over the meaning of land。 For the Oceti Sakowin， history is the land itself: the earth cradles the bones of the ancestors。 As Tasunko Witko， Crazy Horse， once said， 'My land is where my dead lie buried。' For others， however， the earth had to be tamed and dominated by a plow or drilled for profit。 Because Native people remain barriers to capitalist development， their bodies needed to be removed - both from beneath and atop the soil - therefore eliminating their rightful relationship with the land。" （p。 47）"Armed Indigenous resistance has always been a future-oriented and life-oriented project， and it is because of this fearless struggle that we survived and that we can remember。" （p。 115）"For the earth to live， capitalism must die。" （p。 257） Let's hope the wisdom of the Native peoples saves us before it is too late。 。。。more
Megan Ferguson
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Good to see a different perspective on this topic， but I worry that the intense， politicized language and lack of cohesive argument may alienate rather than persuade those of differing stances on this subject。
Talya
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Amazing book and a must-read！
Clay Burns
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More on the history of indigenous peoples than the current event， which I liked。
Christopher Moltisanti's Windbreakers fan
，
“Nevertheless， knowledge alone has never ended imperialism”
Carla
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Nick Estes' 'long tradition of indigenous resistance' builds a narrative that helps myself as a non-Indian person understand the endurance of indigenous cultures - in this case the Oceti Sakowin， the Seven Council Fires of the Lakota， Yankton and Dakota peoples - despite the relentless war waged by settler colonialists on all aspects of indigenous life。 This narrative tells the history of the Oceti Sakowin through the 19th to the 21st century from the perspective of those who resisted: #NoDAPL a Nick Estes' 'long tradition of indigenous resistance' builds a narrative that helps myself as a non-Indian person understand the endurance of indigenous cultures - in this case the Oceti Sakowin， the Seven Council Fires of the Lakota， Yankton and Dakota peoples - despite the relentless war waged by settler colonialists on all aspects of indigenous life。 This narrative tells the history of the Oceti Sakowin through the 19th to the 21st century from the perspective of those who resisted: #NoDAPL as pan-indigenous， international， non-violent resistance is about native sovereignty， the protection of the non-human beings in the world such as Mni Sose or Missouri River， and the end of settler colonialism， a term that captures for Estes the compounding evils of colonialism and capitalism。 I especially appreciated the chapters on the Pick-Sloan project and the early years of AIM。 Our History is the Future - the idea that indigenous values take hold broadly in the future - is a viable plan for the future of our planet。 Coming to see all parts of our planet as alive， as populated with beings on the same footing as human beings， seems the right way to proceed into our future as our climates change。 ----------------------[ The one issue I had with the narrative was Estes' recurrent pitting of the trials of indigenous people against others who have suffered from European and US colonialism and international capitalism。 These debates don't contribute to his narrative。 ] 。。。more
Amber
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Brilliant， well-written book。 It isn't so much a play-by-play of #NODAPL so much as an intensive story of Indigenous Resistance。 I had thought there would be more about the protest， in fact that is really why I picked this up， but even though it didn't meet my expectation there as far as helping me understand what really happened on the field， I was not disappointed at all。Highly recommend this book - right now this is my top book of 2022。 Brilliant， well-written book。 It isn't so much a play-by-play of #NODAPL so much as an intensive story of Indigenous Resistance。 I had thought there would be more about the protest， in fact that is really why I picked this up， but even though it didn't meet my expectation there as far as helping me understand what really happened on the field， I was not disappointed at all。Highly recommend this book - right now this is my top book of 2022。 。。。more
JC
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A wonderful survey of anticolonial organizing， action， and struggle by many Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island。 I enjoyed a lot of the connections of internationalist solidarity that Estes drew between Indigenous nations and other groups engaged in anticolonial struggle:“International delegations were often guests of Indigenous nations in the United States， and Palestinian and Indigenous solidarity was particularly strong and visible。 Both Palestinians and American Indians were unrecognized nat A wonderful survey of anticolonial organizing， action， and struggle by many Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island。 I enjoyed a lot of the connections of internationalist solidarity that Estes drew between Indigenous nations and other groups engaged in anticolonial struggle:“International delegations were often guests of Indigenous nations in the United States， and Palestinian and Indigenous solidarity was particularly strong and visible。 Both Palestinians and American Indians were unrecognized nations， stateless peoples， who were fighting settler-colonial regimes occupying their lands。 At nearly every major Treaty Council event， Palestinians were in attendance。 And it wasn’t just political meetings。 Elizabeth Cook-Lynn recalls their presence at powwows in the 1970s and 1980s。 “Groups of thirty， forty， fifty Palestinians with their guns， with their uniforms， came after the prayers in the morning， after and before the grand entry， and when people could go to breakfast and [were] having coffee and getting organized， the Palestinians were out on that tarmac doing military maneuvers，” she recalls。 “They were invited there by our tribes。”"There was some really important water history in this book that I’d like to look more into when I get the time。 This is one excerpt that I particularly liked， which touched on water， kin relations， spirituality， and revolutionary struggle:“The late Lakota linguist and scholar Albert White Hat Sr。 notes that Wocekiye was purposely mistranslated to “praying” by Christian missionaries to describe “bowing and kneeling to a supreme power， which is much different from the original meaning of acknowledging or meeting a relative。” There was no equivalent to “praying” in the Lakota language， although the word has taken on that meaning because of Christian influence。For the Oceti Sakowin， Mni Sose， the Missouri River， is one such nonhuman relative who is alive， and who is also of the Mni Oyate， the Water Nation。 Nothing owns her， and therefore she cannot be sold or alienated like a piece of property。 （How do you sell a relative？） And protecting one’s relatives is part of enacting kinship and being a good relative， or Wotakuye， including from the threat of contamination by pipeline leak—in other words， death。 This would also spell death for the Oceti Sakowin and its nonhuman relations。 In this way， the rallying cry of Mni Wiconi—“water is life”—is also an affirmation that water is alive。 Hunkpapa historian Josephine Waggoner has suggested that the word mni （water） is a combination of the words mi （meaning “I”） and ni （meaning “being”）， indicating that it also contains life。Mni Wiconi and these Indigenous ways of relating to human and other-than-human life exist in opposition to capitalism， which transforms both humans and nonhumans into labor and commodities to be bought and sold。 These ways of relating also exist in opposition to capitalism’s twin， settler colonialism， which calls for the annihilation of Indigenous peoples and their other-than-human kin。 This is distinct from the romantic notion of Indigenous people and culture that is popular among non-Natives and has been aided by disciplines such as anthropology—a discipline that has robbed us of a viable future by trapping us in a past that never existed。 In the last two centuries， armies of anthropologists， historians， archaeologists， hobbyists， and grave robbers have pillaged and looted Indigenous bodies， knowledges， and histories， in the same way that Indigenous lands and resources were pillaged and looted。 Their distorted， misinterpreted Indigenous histories are both irrelevant and unfamiliar to actually existing Indigenous peoples， and they are deeply disempowering。There exists no better example of Indigenous revolutionary theory， and its purposeful distortion， than the Ghost Dance。 In popular history books， the Ghost Dance appears briefly， only to die at the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890。 The Ghost Dance， in the revolutionary sense， was about life， not death; it was about imagining and enacting an anticolonial Indigenous future free from the death world brought on by settler invasion。” 。。。more
tpg0
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As an AI language model， I am not capable of reading books or having personal opinions。 However， I can provide you with a brief description of the book。 "Our History Is the Future" by Nick Estes is a non-fiction book that provides a detailed account of the Indigenous-led resistance at Standing Rock， North Dakota， against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline。 It traces the history of Indigenous resistance and activism in North America， from the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876 to the ongoing struggle for land and environmental justice today。 The book also explores the connections between the Standing Rock movement and other movements like Black Lives Matter and the struggle for Palestinian liberation。
tpg1
，
As an AI language model， I'm unable to provide personal opinions， but I can provide a summary of the book。 "Our History Is the Future" by Nick Estes is a remarkable book about the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016。 The book not only recounts the events at Standing Rock but also places them in a broader historical and cultural context of Indigenous resistance in America。 Estes argues that the protest wasn't just about protecting the environment or the tribe's land rights， but also about preserving a way of life that has been under attack for centuries。 The book weaves together personal stories， historical analysis， and political commentary to create a powerful narrative of resistance and resilience。 It traces the history of colonialism in America， from the arrival of European settlers to the present day， and shows how Indigenous people have continually fought back against attempts to erase their culture， identity， and sovereignty。 "Our History Is the Future" is a must-read for anyone interested in Indigenous rights， environmental justice， and social activism。 It is a powerful reminder that the struggle for justice and equality is ongoing and that the Indigenous communities continue to be at the forefront of that fight。
tpg2
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