The Dakota Access Pipeline is a shale oil pipeline, beginning in the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota, and running underneath the Missouri River. The oil companies invested in the pipeline decided to route the pipeline under the river on the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, putting the nation’s primary water source at risk of oil leaks. Young activists on the reservation began a sustained protest, highlighting their work with the social media hashtag #NoDAPL, eventually drawing international attention.

The University of Denver Native Student Alliance (NSA) coordinated a 2-day protest in response to both a NoDAPL National Day of Action and the Pipeline Leadership Conference, an event on the DU campus hosted by the Daniels College of Business and sponsored by Michels Corporation and Enbridge Energy Partners, two of the companies involved in the Pipeline. The event drew community support, at one point shutting down the intersection of University and Evans.

#NoDAPL

No DAPL

Members of the Native Student Alliance protest the Dakota Access Pipeline outside of the Pipeline Leadership Conference hosted at Daniels College of Business. Credit: University of Denver.