“Defend the Sacred”: Standing Rock, Cannon Ball, North Dakota, 2016 © Ryan Vizzions
From April 2016 until March 2017, one of the largest protest movements in American history took place on the plains of North Dakota at Standing Rock reservation. Over 15,000 people, including members of more than 300 recognised tribes, gathered at resistance camps to protect the water supply of more than 17 million people from the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).
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Like many outsiders, photographer Ryan Vizzions first became aware of the movement that September when Democracy Now! broadcast video of the DAPL attacking unarmed Native Americans with dogs and pepper spray. “Being from Atlanta, it echoed the Civil Rights era, so I wanted to understand more,” Vizzions says.
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After visiting Oceti Sakowin camp, Vizzions made the decision to quit his job and dedicate himself to the cause that October. Later that month, there was talk of a police raid on 1851 Treaty Camp, just one mile north. At 10:30 on the morning of October 27, they finally arrived. Vizzions rushed up to the front lines where he just in time to photograph a peaceful protester on her horse, watching the full display of US militarization in support of DAPL.
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Milky Way and Tipi, Standing Rock, 2016 © Ryan Vizzions