Our History is Our Future: Standing Rock Vs the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance / Nick Estes / 2019

Our History is Our Future: Standing Rock Vs the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance / Nick Estes / 2019

I slept on this book for a bit because I thought that all the news I read and conversations with friends on the ground would have made some of the information in this book redundant. That wasn’t the case at all. In fact, I’d argue that Nick Estes performs here a version of what Cedric Robinson performed in Black Marxism. I found particularly moving Estes’s discussion of the Ghost Dance movement, led by a Paiute prophet Wovoka. In my experience, Paiutes are extremely marginalized, even in Native circles, and are frequently portrayed as a largely peaceful, undefiant band of Natives, so finding such a monumental figure in the history of Indigenous resistance was exciting. I also deeply appreciated Estes’ discussion of the AIM movement and its transition away from armed militant struggle to international solidarity campaigns. I was unaware of the role indigenous nations played in the UN and their ties to Palestine. Indeed, it was horrifying to learn of Israel’s role in Standing Rock as well. Israel shared its crowd control technologies and referred to the water protectors as a Hamas insurgency in the US (maybe slightly paraphrased here). US forces particularly targeted Middle Eastern, and of course, Palestinian activists who participated. This book was infuriating and inspiring to read and I’m so grateful for it. 5/5