The Indigenous-led #NoDAPL movement at Standing Rock galvanized Indigenous Peoples and allies worldwide to defend water, treaty rights, and the sacred responsibilities to land and life.

In the report, we identify four defining recalibrations that emerged from Standing Rock: it elevated the global importance of water under the rallying cry Mni Wiconi — Water is Life; it re-centered treaties and Indigenous sovereignty in legal and political discourse; it revealed a coordinated corporate–state counteroffensive against environmental defenders; and it catalyzed a global Indigenous-led climate resistance movement that continues today.

 

The report provides an in-depth examination of:

 

• the historical context of the Očéti Šakówiŋ and treaty lands

• the emergence of the #NoDAPL movement and the founding of Sacred Stone Camp

• environmental risks and documented harms associated with pipeline construction

• failures of tribal consultation and environmental review

• the legal landscape of Dakota Access Pipeline litigation (2016–2026)

• corporate strategies targeting environmental defenders

• international human rights documentation related to Standing Rock

• the global legacy of Indigenous-led resistance movements

 

The report is accompanied by appendix volumes totaling more than 1,400 pages of documentation, including legal filings, historical records, and supporting materials. Because this history belongs to the people, the digital version of the report and its supporting documentation are publicly available at no cost.

 

The report is dedicated to Water Protectors, past and present.

 

This report features photography used with special permission from Ryan Vizzions and John Willis. Their images helped document the spirit of the camps and the strength of the people who gathered there, and we are deeply grateful for their generosity in helping preserve this history.

 

This report is titled “For the Love of Water” for a reason. For the tens of thousands of Water Protectors who gathered at Standing Rock, the movement was ultimately—and foremost—about the water that is life. People came in prayer, in responsibility, and in defense of something fundamental: the life-giving waters that sustain all of us.

 

The resistance and resilience shown at Standing Rock remain deeply inspirational to this day. Yet we also hold a vision of a world where such resistance and resilience are no longer necessary—where the Earth and her waters are protected not through confrontation and sacrifice, but through a shared conviction that life itself must be safeguarded. We envision a world where corporate accountability is no longer deferred indefinitely, and where the protection of land, water, and sacred places is understood as a collective responsibility.

 

Resilience is sustained through a practice of hope. In the meantime, we continue the uphill work alongside Water Protectors and frontline communities of protecting the land, the water, and the sacred places for the generations yet to come.

​