Culture, resource, management, and anthropology: Pipelines and the wakan at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation

Abstract

The protests against the Dakota Access pipeline at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation have demonstrated a crisis of archaeology and cultural resources management. The reactions to the protests have also revealed related issues with cultural knowledge and its representation in the broader anthropological community. This text approaches those issues through an analysis of the lawsuits surrounding the protests as well as the narratives about and by anthropologists reacting to the pipeline. It concludes with recommendations to improve cultural resources management practices and archaeological education.