Behind the scenes of activism

By Matt Roberts

On his way back to New Mexico after dropping his daughter off at college in Durango, Colorado, Ricardo Caté made a split-second decision at a stoplight. “Coming back from Colorado, instead of turning right to go home, I turned left at the last minute,” he said. He was heading for the town of Cannon Ball in the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Not far from Cannon Ball, just north of the reservation boundary, a large encampment has been growing over the summer, serving as a gathering place for those who oppose the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Caté is from the Santo Domingo Pueblo Reservation in central New Mexico and, like many others far away from Standing Rock, he had previously heard of the movement via social media and it had been on his mind as he drove his daughter to school. After he turned his truck towards North Dakota rather than New Mexico, Caté thought of a way to help. “While I was driving I asked on Facebook if people wanted to donate supplies and I asked them to send money,” which they did. “I shopped and loaded up my truck.”

Once Caté reached the camp, a problem with his truck kept him there longer than he anticipated. Now, his truck is fixed and the supplies are delivered, but on Labor Day weekend, Caté still finds himself in the camp where he estimates over 150 tribal nations are represented. He’s been there for eight days, staying because of the sense of community and power he feels at the camp.

Caté, who describes those resisting the pipeline as protectors rather than protestors, is a celebrated cartoonist and the creator of “Without Reservations,” a comic strip that appears in The Santa Fe New Mexican. Through satire and art it serves as commentary on Native American and social issues. He feels that what has been going on at Standing Rock is being inaccurately portrayed in the media. “If [the media] only choose the colorful Indian dancing, and that portrayal, that’s definitely not all that’s going on. We have real people,” Caté said. “These are the people that should be portrayed, the everyday people that are working, the everyday people that are struggling.”

From a school, to a kitchen capable of feeding hundreds of people, to a tent full of lawyers where people living at the camp can get legal advice, the Standing Rock movement is beginning to look more like a small town and people are devoting a large amount of time and energy to keep the camp running.

Clouds roll over the Standing Rock camp on Sept. 3, 2016. The camp has expanded from its original site, Sacred Stone camp, which is located across the river and over a small hill, out of sight. Over Labor Day weekend there were hundreds of people representing more than 150 tribal nations at the camp. Olivia Vanni | MJR

Ricardo Caté poses for a portrait near the common area of the Standing Rock camp. Even at the camp he can be found sitting in his truck working on cartoons. Matt Roberts | MJR

A group of children take turns trying to dunk over the tallest of the bunch. The high number of children in the camp has warranted the construction of a makeshift school (dark green tent on the right in the background) with teachers, supplies and students. Lawyers that have been living on-site to deal with any legal issue that arise in the camp are working to legitimize the school’s curriculum to meet official educational standards. Matt Roberts | MJR

A teepee on the edge of the common area of the camp has been transformed into an interactive piece of art where visitors can sign their name or make a drawing to show their support. To facilitate the drawing, the normal canvas of the teepee is coated in white paint. As the signatures and art move up the sides of the teepee, more paint is used to coat the higher areas. Matt Roberts | MJR

Stacy Braveheart, from Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, cooks fry bread in the ninety-degree heat to help feed the hundreds of people waiting in line for food. Food is served at seven locations across the camp and all visitors are welcome to eat. Olivia Vanni | MJR

Beth Moore-Love lies on top of an empty cooler in a small patch of shade after working all day in the common area kitchen. Moore-Love made the drive out to Standing Rock from New Mexico two days ago to volunteer her time helping out around the camp. The camp has enough food and volunteers for everyone. Olivia Vanni | MJR

A Fort Belknap Reservation flag flies off the back the pickup truck owned by Mark Azure, president of the Fort Belknap Indian Community in northeastern Montana. Azure and nearly 30 other people made the drive from their reservation to North Dakota to support the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. Olivia Vanni | MJR

A photographer for AFP (Agence France-Presse) based out of Los Angeles, CA, takes photos of the Colorado River Tribe of Arizona as they walk into the Standing Rock Camp outside of Cannon Ball, ND on Sept. 3, 2016. Olivia Vanni | MJR

A woman stands and watches a group of dancers from the Minneapolis branch of the Kalpulli Ketzal Coatlicue perform in the evening. The Kalpulli are of Aztec heritage and maintain Aztec culture and traditions, such as this dance. They came to Standing Rock to show their support in resisting the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Matt Roberts | MJR

The Cannon Ball River meanders by the Standing Rock Camp as the day winds down. In addition to being an essential natural resource, locals also view the river as a spiritual place of beauty and power. Matt Roberts | MJR

Children who are both visiting and living in the camp enjoy the river at the end of a sunny day where temperatures reached the mid 90s. The river, along with the water and resources it provides, is at the heart of the Standing Rock movement as locals feel its quality is threatened by the prospect of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Many at Standing Rock have said that this needs to be treated not only as a Native American issue, but as a national issue, citing the connectedness of our waterways and our reliance on fossil fuels. Matt Roberts | MJR

Volunteers chop logs to be used around the camp. Wood is an important fuel and is needed for both cooking in the large kitchen area and nighttime campfires. No matter the time of day, the smell of woodsmoke is constantly sifting through the tents, teepees and trucks that define the bulk of the camp’s shape. Matt Roberts | MJR

A woman stands at the top of a hill just outside the entrance to the Standing Rock camp to try and get cell service. Cell service within the camp can be shoddy, and many of the campers must hike up the nearest hill to try to gain reception. Social media and the sharing of photos has played a very important role in communicating the events at Standing Rock. Many of the people who traveled long distances to reach the camp said that they first heard of the events on social media. Olivia Vanni | MJR