The following is a letter of support from concerned Stony Brook faculty, staff and students for the many tribal nations and indigenous people who will be impacted by the Dakota Access Pipeline.

We, the undersigned Stony Brook University (SUNY) faculty, staff and graduate students stand in solidarity with the sovereign Oceti Sakowin Oyate (the Great Sioux Nation), the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the many other tribal nations and native and indigenous peoples in strongly opposing the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

The construction of the oil pipeline, stretching across Standing Rock Sioux lands on its 1,172 ­mile path from North Dakota to Illinois, crosses the sacred ancestral lands of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Missouri River – a major source of water for the tribe. This pipeline violates historic treaties between Oceti Sakowin and the United States, and also violates terms of the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historic Preservation Act as well as the collective human rights of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and its people. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not consult with the tribal government or affected communities before granting permits and allowing construction to begin.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe filed a preliminary injunction to cease construction of the pipeline, but a U.S. District Court ruled against them on Friday, Sept. 9. The Justice, the Army and the Interior issued a joint statement after the decision to halt construction on part of the pipeline at the Missouri River Crossing for further study. This is a temporary victory and can be directly attributed to the resistance efforts by the Standing Rock Sioux, together with other tribes and allies in the U.S. and beyond its borders. A camp has been set up to block construction, and despite the intense militarization of the area, there are plans to keep the mobilization going until the U.S. Government respects the rights and desires of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

We state our support with them and call for the respect of the sovereign rights of the Oceti Sakowin and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and for the permanent halt to the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Signed,

Melissa M. Forbis, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Sociology

Joseph M. Pierce, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Joined By:

Ritch Calvin, Women’s Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Joy C. Schaefer, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature

Laura James, English

Joie Meier, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Shruti Mukherjee, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Stephanie Bonvissuto, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Sofia Varino, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature

Eva Boodman, Philosophy

Loreto Barranco, Hispanic Languages and Literature

María Paz Domínguez, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Allyse Knox­Russell, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Kelly H. Jones, History

Alyssa Adamson, Philosophy

Jenny Strandberg, Philosophy

Javier Uriarte, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Lena Burgos­Lafuente, Hispanic Languages and Literature

S.D. Lavin, English

Andrew Newman, History

Ryan Minor, Music

Erika Honisch, Music

Shirley Jennifer Lim, History

Sohl Lee, Art

Peggy Spitzer Christoff, Asian & Asian American Studies

Liz Montegary, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Timothy K. August, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature

E.K. Tan, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature

Olga M. Bonilla, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Behnaz Varamini, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Karen Wishnia, Art

Daniel A. Weymouth, Music

Kathleen Vernon, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Victoria Hesford, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Carolina Vittor, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Victoriano Roncero­López, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Elena Davidiak, Hispanic Languages and Literature

David Mather, Art

Nerissa S. Balce, Asian & Asian American Studies

Patrice Nganang, Cultural Analysis and Comparative Literature

Elizabeth Schmermund, Cultural Analysis and Comparative Literature

Kadji Amin, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Brent Strang, Cultural Analysis and Comparative Literature

Hyosun Lee, Cultural Analysis and Comparative Literature

Sophia Marguerite Basaldua, Cultural Analysis and Comparative Literature

Laura P Casas, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Iona Man­Cheong, History

Jing Li, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature

Robert Harvey, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature

Stephen D Smith, Music

D. Semegen, Music

Alexandra Nicolaides, Art

Hélène Volat, Librarian Emerita

Howardena Pindell, Art

J. Caity Swanson, English

Fiona Cashell, Art

Edward S. Casey, Philosophy

Amy Rahn, Art History and Criticism

Salma S.Ralph, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Oli Stephano, Philosophy

Simone West, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature

David Lawton, Music

Kimberly Coates, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature

Paul Firbas, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Lilia Ruiz­Debbe, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Lou Charnon­Deutsch, Hispanic Languages and Literature

José Chueca, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Gisele Blain de Dios, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Yanling Li, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature

Aurélie Vialette, Hispanic Languages and Literature

Kathleen Wilson, History and Humanities Institute

Jennifer Anderson, History

Adrienne Unger, Humanities Institute

Elizabeth Terese Newman, History

Victoria H. Febrer, Humanities Institute

Crystal Marie Fleming, Sociology and Africana Studies

Tracey Walters, Africana Studies

John Lutterbie, Theatre Arts

Sara Lipton, History

Dylan Godwin, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature

Lori Flores, History

Sharon T. Pochron, Sustainability Studies

Giuseppe Gazzola, European Languages, Literatures and Cultures

Rita S. Nezami, Writing and Rhetoric

Rachel Rodriguez, College of Arts & Sciences

Lisa Diedrich, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Jordan Helin, History

Laura Sisti, Art

Hongkyung Kim, Asian & Asian American Studies

Abena Ampofoa Asare, Africana Studies