Plains Indians Project

Plains Indians Project Due Friday, 5/7
An Emic Perspective on the Dakota Access Pipeline, contemporary problems/issues & a course schedule rewrite from an
indigenous, Plains Indian perspective
View the following video: Awake: A Dream From Standing Rock (2021)

Required Paper Responses
A) What is the emic perspective of the people who are affected by DAPL in this film? Research why the protesters are opposed
to DAPL and discuss their reasons for opposition. (250 words min. 300 max.) What is your response to the film? (This is
required, but does not count in the word count). (10 points)
B) Who is DAPL? Research is required to answer the following questions and you should cite the sources you use (750 words
min. for all points). (30 points)
o (150 words total min for these 3 points, 250 max.)
 What is DAPL?
 Who is DAPL? Here you will provide a list of corporations, banks, etc. that support DAPL through
funding. You should include any source of support for DAPL.
 What is the current status of DAPL?
o Majority of points will focus on this: Visit two of the organizations listed below and discuss their organization
agendas and working statements.
o http://www.nativeorganizing.org/ (300 words min. 500 words max.)
 Discuss an overview of sacred places and cultural protections
 Discuss the working statement on sacred lands and cultural protections
 Discuss at least 4 guiding principles the President and Congress should commit to.
o http://www.ienearth.org/justtransition (300 words min. 500 words max.)
 Discuss the three Indigenous-based principles of what Just Transition means to Indigenous peoples in North
America. Here you should read the document in its entirety and provide an overview of each principle with
specific examples from the reading.
o Works Cited page (not included in word count)
C) What are some other contemporary Native American issues that you would be personally interested in researching? (500
words min. 750 words max.) (20 points)
o Here you can be as general as you like, but you must cite sources. For example: environment, the link to education,
poverty, etc.
 Write at least two complete pages (500 words) that will inform the reader about your topic.
 Pick two topics and explain the topic and why you found it interesting
 Works cited page does not count in word count
D) Rewrite this course content from a Native American perspective: (40 points)
o Provide an indigenous perspective: this means that each chosen article should be written by a person who
identifies and has tribal affiliation with a Plains Indian group.
o Pick four different topics on Plains Indians that were not included in the course content for this semester.
 Complete an annotated bibliography for each reading. See How to Write an Annotated Bibliography
(Requires at least 125 words for each source)
 After the annotation you should respond and provide feedback (justification) why the topic should be
included in a Plains Indians course. (Requires 100 words for each source)
o You may not use any material from C above or from class, but…
 You may use the Gelo textbook as a springboard for topics we have not discussed in class.
Please note that this assignment requires research so you should set your schedule accordingly. Additional assistance for
any research questions can be directed to Rita Wilson, the resource librarian for anthropology. Rita is extremely helpful
and is always willing to assist students in their research work. Please do not wait until the last minute to be in touch with
Rita. rita.wilson@utsa.edu