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View larger image — Silhouetted tipis at Oceti Sakowin.

View larger image — Preparation of a mutton feast offered by members of the Navajo Nation and others from the Southwest.

View larger image — Documenting signs, clothing, art and artifacts are a large part of ethnographic research.

View larger image — Dr. Dana Powell, left, with long-time friends Anne White Hat (Teton/Rosebud) of New Orleans and Shining Light Kitchen and Earl Tulley, founding member of Diné CARE (Citizens Against Ruining our Environment) of Rock Springs, Arizona.

View larger image — A sign pleading for clemency for Leonard Peltier, a leader of the American Indian Movement (AIM) who has been in prison for over 29 years, since the uprising at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in 1973. The issues surrounding his case remain controversial.

View larger image — Undergraduate research assistant Ricki Draper observes the Oceti Sakowin encampment.

View larger image — An observer captures a photo of a group of water protectors gathered for a non-violent direct action at a road blockade.

View larger image — NO DAPL roadside sign along Highway 1806, the main road into the encampments from Bismarck, North Dakota. In early November the Morton County Sheriff’s Department blocked the road, making movement in and out of the encampments virtually impossible.

View larger image — The researchers saw banners, T-shirts, posters and flags along the fence line that runs beside Highway 1806. They were displayed by different Native nation groups and other visitors, including NGOs, veterans and schools groups in an act of support for the water protectors.

View larger image — The researchers saw banners, T-shirts, posters and flags along the fence line that runs beside Highway 1806. They were displayed by different Native nation groups and other visitors, including NGOs, veterans and schools groups in an act of support for the water protectors.

View larger image — Ricki Draper, left, and Dr. Dana Powell.

View larger image — Preparing wood for the winter.

View larger image — Tarpees at Camp Southwest, one of the named camps within the larger Oceti Sakowin, where Powell stayed over Thanksgiving. The tarpees are made of tarp as opposed to the natural skins of the tipis, are manufactured and have a pre-fabricated opening for a wood stove or oil drum pipe.

View larger image — This Mongolian-style yurt is part of the community home school and affiliated with the Standing Rock Sioux tribal teachers.

View larger image — Members of the Oceti Sakowin construction crew build a Navajo Hogan.

View larger image — A work of art that greets people as they arrive at the main entry to Oceti Sakowin.

View larger image — Tipis in the snow, Nov. 28, the morning of the first blizzard.

View larger image — A sign at the entrance to the Indigenous Peoples Power Project, known in Oceti Sakowin as the IP3 Camp.

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Photographs taken by Dr. Dana Powell during visits to Oceti Sakowin encampment at Standing Rock, North Dakota

Posted Dec. 8, 2016 at 11:33 a.m.

All photos by Dr. Dana Powell, professor of anthropology at Appalachian State University

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

If you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

Podcasts may be found at Appalachian State University Podcasts
Stories and press releases published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found in University Communications Records at the Special Collections Research Center.
Events may be found in the University Calendar

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Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

If you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

Podcasts may be found at Appalachian State University Podcasts
Stories and press releases published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found in University Communications Records at the Special Collections Research Center.
Events may be found in the University Calendar

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