Sydney Environment Institute

Starting in April 2016, thousands of people, led by Standing Rock Sioux Tribal members, gathered at camps to stop the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL)—creating the #NoDAPL movement. The movement ultimately blocked pipeline construction, though under a new U.S. presidential administration, many are waiting to see what steps will need to be taken to continue resistance. #NoDAPL has mobilized Indigenous peoples and allies everywhere. What is its significance for Indigenous peoples and environmentalism, including the global climate justice and environmental justice movements? The presentation and discussion will explore this question through Dr. Whyte’s work on climate and environmental justice and writings on the #No DAPL movement.

Speaker:
Kyle Powys Whyte holds the Timnick Chair in the Humanities at Michigan State University. He is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Community Sustainability, a faculty member of the Environmental Philosophy & Ethics graduate concentration, and a faculty affiliate of the American Indian Studies and Environmental Science & Policy programs. His primary research addresses moral and political issues concerning climate policy and Indigenous peoples and the ethics of cooperative relationships between Indigenous peoples and climate science organizations. He is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. His articles have appeared in journals such as Climatic Change, Sustainability Science, Environmental Justice, Hypatia, Ecological Processes, Synthese, Human Ecology, Journal of Global Ethics, American Journal of Bioethics, Journal of Agricultural & Environmental Ethics, Ethics, Policy & Environment, and Ethics & the Environment.