The Fourth Annual Ecological Sciences and Engineering (ESE) Keystone Series, 2017 presents:
Understanding Standing Rock An interdisciplinary conversation on the
Dakota Access Pipeline
Over the past year, thousands of people have traveled to North Dakota in opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline, and more specifically, it’s crossing beneath the Missouri River (Lake Oahe) just upstream of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Our goal is to dive into the complexity behind this issue and reflect on the events which have transpired and continue to unfold. We will analyze the events through many interrelated lenses, including but not limited to tribal sovereignty, energy supply, environmental risk, economics, and policy.
Objectives of Understanding Standing Rock Keystone Event
- Utilize an interdisciplinary approach to broaden understanding of the complexities and intersectionality of the conflict at Standing Rock.
- Identify lessons which are transferable to broader social and environmental justice issues through informed discussion and personal reflection.
- Compile recommendations for smarter more equitable policies.
Specific ‘Research Questions’
- What level of social and environmental cost are we willing to tolerate for energy independence and economic development?
- How does the U.S. government create specific, fair/equitable policy and how do various stakeholders (e.g. sovereign nations, industry, etc) impact these decisions?
- What differences in worldviews remain a barrier to conflict resolution?
- What precedence does Standing Rock set in other conflicts between sovereign nations within the United States and globally?
We welcome you to be involved!
This series has been initiated by student-faculty collaboration. We want to make it as inclusive and productive as possible. For this reason we invite any interested student, staff, faculty, or member of the broader Purdue and Lafayette/West Lafayette communities to participate as they are interested.
If you have any questions, please contact Christal Musser.
Would you like to watch the event? VIEW KEYSTONE PANEL HERE.
Happy viewing!
