An historic gathering of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Seven Council Fires) the widespread members of the Great Sioux Nation, was the initial motivation for Sydney-born photojournalist Angus Mordant to leave his home in New York and head out to Standing Rock in North Dakota.
What followed in the late summer and into a bitter winter of 2016 was possibly one of the most widely covered protest movements by international media since Tiananmen Square in 1989 – Mordant was one of a small core group of photographers who devoted several weeks from September to November 2016 documenting the Standing Rock Sioux in moments of conflict and solidarity in their ongoing fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Many of the resulting images are currently on exhibition now at the Lismore Regional Gallery
Modant, who spent about 40 days at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, often shot from behind the relative safety of a gas mask and kevlar vest and has images ranging from children playing on grassy hills, to veterans arriving then battling a blizzard, to armed police brandishing Coke bottle sized canisters of mace to be sprayed in the eyes of those who would stand in the face of anything to save their country.
Mordant’s photographs show not only the tension and violence that has resulted from these protests, but also the rich culture and moments of celebration amongst the Native American people as they come together to protect their land.
Yesterday the gallery hosted Mordant as a guest speaker – talked about his work at Standing Rock, and showed additional images and some behind the scene shots illustrating the hurdles he went through to document the struggle by the local Sioux tribe.
Angus said there were about a dozen photojournalists who were quite passionate about documenting what happened in North Dakota. He said there was a lot of trust-building with the local folk and protesters which in the end allowed him to get up close. ‘In every community of 15,000 people there are going to be some who don’t want to be photographed.
‘I was around the camp a lot so people knew I wasn’t a guy that was “just here” as a bit of a vulture to shoot a bit of action then leave. If they knew you were there for something more meaningful, then most of them were ok.’
Mordant says one of the things he took away from the protest was a new understanding of the resilience of people. ‘It was not just the climate – it was freezing in the blizzards and the wind – but also putting up with the police. Not only the brutality of being on the frontline, but having a surface to air missile aimed at the camp and snipers around and razor wire and vehicle stops. It was tense. It felt basically like you were in a war zone.’
One of the wins Mordant was very happy about was the effect the support seemed to have on many of the local community.
‘They didn’t “win” this fight but it depends on what metric you put on this fight. During this movement, indigenous youth suicide rates in the region plummeted. There were almost no youth suicides because people had a sense of purpose, they were reconnecting with their traditions.
‘They are usually just sitting bored on the reservation, so they had something to do and the sense that there was something much more. They also raised so much awareness of the issues. I personally don’t think of it as a loss.
Mordant feels it’s important to look at the bigger picture. ‘There’s the disappointment that now the oil is flowing and that’s a loss – but in the grand scheme of things there was a lot of acknowledgment of a new sense of purpose. Sure we didn’t win this one but don’t give up necessarily. There are other fights.’
The pipeline was completed by April and its first oil was delivered on May 14, 2017. The pipeline became commercially operational on June 1, 2017. There has already been two spills.
The Standing Rock exhibition runs until July 22 at the Lismore Regional Gallery
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