STANDOFF:
Standing Rock, the Bundy Movement, and the American Story
of Sacred Lands
by Jacqueline Keeler
The Bundy takeover of Oregon's Malheur Wildlife Refuge and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's standoff against an oil pipeline in North Dakota are two sides of the same story that created America and its deep-rooted cultural conflicts. Through a compelling comparison of conflicting beliefs and legal systems, Keeler explores whether the West has really been won—and for whom.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JACQUELINE KEELER is a Diné/Ihanktonwan Dakota writer living in Portland, Oregon. She is editor of the anthology Edge of Morning: Native Voices Speak for the Bears Ears and has contributed to many publications including The Nation, Yes! magazine, and Salon.
April 2021 | Nonfiction | 978-1-948814-27-0 | 19.95
PRAISE FOR STANDOFF
​
“Keeler makes a compelling case . . . her elucidation of how the domination of the written word over oral storytelling contributes to the unequal application of justice adds fascinating context.”
—MINNESOTA STAR TRIBUNE
"Eye-opening and compelling . . . required reading for those who would call this land home."
—KIRKUS REVIEWS
​
“Rigorous analysis and personal storytelling invigorate Jacqueline Keeler’s examination of Indigenous vs. colonial land tenure. Standoff recounts the historic legacy of treaty rights and sacred space underpinning Standing Rock’s case against the Dakota Access Pipeline, and contrasts this legacy with the white entitlement as well as cultural land desecrations of the Bundy movement. Standoff is a powerful, illuminating book.”
—LOUISE ERDRICH, author of The Night Watchman
“Jacqueline Keeler weaves personal experience, cultural awareness, and journalistic acumen to tell a compelling story that compares and contrasts two modern and historic Western encounters between federal land policy and the people who inhabit these lands. ‘Whose land is it anyway?’ Keeler ultimately asks, and finding the answer is a task that requires deep reflection from all of us who share these magnificent vistas.”
—CHRIS LA TRAY, author of Becoming Little Shell
“Jacqueline Keeler, a master storyteller and reporter, crafts a knotty skein, twining together family traditions, Native and colonial histories, personal experiences, and crackerjack journalism. Standoff explores inequity and entitlement, seeking answers to what American land means to cultures with divergent values and uneven advantages."
—BETSY GAINES QUAMMEN, author of American Zion
“Standoff has the potential to launch a trend of orderly and pertinent analysis of the societal, cultural and structural issues that provide the context within which today’s Indian Movement(s) operate and presents a challenge to Indian people whether we continue to play the game of accepting our ‘place’ in America or define who we are and what we want to be.”
—SAM DELORIA, law professor emeritus, University of New Mexico
“This is the kind of book we owe to young Indigenous kids. They deserve the truth, even if it hurts, and this brave, well-sourced journalism deserves to be named for what it will go down in history as: perhaps the most in-depth look at the #NoDAPL movement, coming from where it should: your nation and from within Indian country.”
—DESIREE KANE, journalist
​
“Environmental activists, Indigenous rights activists, and allies should take note of the challenging, unjust, and at times beautiful accounts shared here, which illuminate the complexity of what it means to stand in solidarity in a colonial state.”
—MARISA ELENA DUARTE, Assistant Professor, Arizona State University School of Social Transformation