Winthrop graduate visits Standing Rock, joins protest against proposed pipeline

A Winthrop grad returned to campus recently where he spoke about his experience with the Standing Rock protests in North Dakota.

You probably don’t know Ma’iingan Bebaamaadizid, but you may have known him as Dakota Greywolf. Since leaving Rock Hill, he has chosen a name he says is truer to his heritage.　

Ma’iingan is from the Aamjiwnaang First Nation in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. But he hasn’t always known that. He said his parents severed ties with the Aamjiwnaang community before his birth and moved to South Carolina, where he was unable to learn about his heritage.

“Reconnecting who I am through my heritage has been an uphill battle that I really have only held myself accountable for,” he said. “I’m not the only one born ignorant to the ways of my ancestors.”

As a Winthrop student, Ma’iingan was an artist and sculptor. He mostly used organic materials to produce his sculptures and paintings. He colored his paintings with natural dyes and crafted human-form sculptures from plant material. Ma’iingan says his art is a reflection of his respect for the environment.　

“As an artist, I’m really focused on bringing up my practice to a code of ethics,” he said. “That’s what bridged me over into being an activist and being interested in what’s going on in the world when it comes to nature and what I feel my responsibility is as a human.”

Ma’iingan received his bachelor’s degree last May in fine arts and sculpture. Four days after graduating, he started his 1,600-mile trip to Standing Rock Indian Reservation. With a little hitchhiking, some stops along the way, and a few long bus rides, he arrived on Aug. 28.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other activists from around the U.S are protesting the construction of the Bakken Pipeline, also known as the “Dakota Access Pipeline.” It’s a 1,172-mile interstate pipeline that carries crude oil. Dakota Access LLC is the company building the pipeline and is a subsidiary of the oil company Energy Transfer Partners. That company purchased more than 6,000 acres of land on Sept. 23.　

Following the purchase, demonstrators at the camp became trespassers, and they’ve refused to leave.

The pipeline would breach Sioux Nation treaty land and risk polluting the Missouri River and its surrounding ecosystem, according to Chief Bill Harris of the Catawba Indian Nation. Harris spoke alongside Ma’iingan at the recent “Situation at Standing Rock” forum at Winthrop.

The panel also said oil leaks and pipeline explosions happen several times a year in the U.S.

Ma’iingan said he had not planned a long stay in Standing Rock. He packed lightly and took his own food. However, he said he quickly realized the protest camp was a strong, but struggling, community. So he volunteered as camp security and stayed long enough to see tensions grow between police and protesters.

“There were days where huge mass arrests would happen,” Ma’iingan said. “People got maced and shot at with rubber bullets. I guess the highest point of tension while I was there was when fires started to happen. Military transport vehicles were torched.”

Ma’iingan said people arrested from his camp were sent to several North Dakota detention centers. The Los Angeles Times and Washington Post reported that the detained demonstrators were kept in dog kennels when jails reached capacity. Confiscated items were returned to demonstrators via dump truck, Ma’iingan said. Online video of the violence at Standing Rock shows police officers using dogs and other measures to control protesters.

Ma’iingan was not harmed.

He said his time at Standing Rock was a valuable experience.

“Leaving Standing Rock was very difficult for me,” he said. “There was a lack of communication between parties. I didn’t really know if protesters were on the same side anymore about how to confront this.”

On Dec. 4, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, Katherine Hammack, announced The Department of the Army would not grant an easement for the pipeline’s construction. That appears to be a key breakthrough in halting construction of the pipeline.　

Ma’iingan said he’s done with Standing Rock for now, but he’ll continue his journey for self-discovery and social justice.

“I’m really inspired by the amount of people who are taking to the streets and acting on how they feel, that they don’t feel represented and they’re scared,” he said.

Ma’iingan said he plans to make it to Aamjiwnaang soon, where he will see his ancestral home.　

“I’m excited,” he said. “It feels like my life has been leading up to this.”

This story was originally published December 14, 2016 at 11:41 AM with the headline "Winthrop graduate visits Standing Rock, joins protest against proposed pipeline."