Lesson 2: Standing Rock & The Water Protectors — Mni Wiconi
The 2016 Standing Rock movement — how Lakota Sioux water protectors united with 300+ nations worldwide, including Māori kaitiaki, to resist the Dakota Access Pipeline and protect their sacred wai (water).
🎯 Ngā Whāinga Akoranga | Learning Intentions
The Standing Rock crisis: who the Standing Rock Sioux are, what the Dakota Access Pipeline threatened, how 'Mni Wiconi' (water is life) connects to Māori kaitiakitanga, and how global solidarity amplified the movement.
Analyse three primary sources from the Standing Rock movement; write a 'Solidarity Statement' in the voice of a Māori environmental group sending support to Standing Rock in 2016.
🎥 Media Anchor & Discussion Scaffold
Māori stand with Standing Rock — Gisborne Herald
Watch the full clip — 8:36. Source: gisborneherald.
🧠 1. Before Viewing (Activate & Inquire)
What is kaitiakitanga? How do Māori view rivers, lakes, and water as taonga? Now consider: if a company wanted to build a pipeline under the Waikato River, what rights would Māori have to object?
👁️ 2. During Viewing (Critical Inquiry)
- Capture as you watch: who is speaking, where are they, and what are they asking for? Record names and places exactly as given.
- The whanaungatanga question: this is Māori in Aotearoa acting on something happening in North Dakota. Note every reason the speakers give for why this is their business too.
- Evidence of solidarity: what do they actually DO — not what they say they feel. List the actions.
🗣️ 3. After Viewing & Kaiako Discussion (Process & Connect)
Kaiako Provocation: Bring in images from the Standing Rock encampment showing Māori flags, haka, and solidarity visits from New Zealand. Discuss: what does physical presence at a protest overseas mean? What message does it send?
Inquiry Task: Solidarity Statement: Write a 200-word solidarity message from a fictional Māori environmental group to the Standing Rock Water Protectors. Include: specific connections between kaitiakitanga and Mni Wiconi, an acknowledgement of the shared colonial experience, and a specific offer of support.
⚡ Whakaoho | Do Now: Inquiry Hook (5 mins)
Read the headline: 'New Zealand Māori travel to Standing Rock to support water protectors.' What questions does this raise? List five questions you would want answered.
🌏 Activity 1: Research & Analysis (25 mins)
Source analysis — examine three primary sources: a Lakota elder's statement, a Māori kaitiaki solidarity speech, and a pipeline company press release. Identify the perspective, evidence, and purpose of each. Whose narrative is missing?
✍️ Activity 2: Synthesis & Advocacy Writing (20 mins)
Timeline construction: Build a timeline of the Standing Rock crisis from 2016 to its outcomes. At each stage, add a parallel Māori environmental rights event (e.g., Whanganui River personhood, Ihumātao). What patterns emerge?
🏫 Kaiako Planning & Pedagogy Notes
Curriculum Alignment: The New Zealand Curriculum (2007) · Social Studies, Level 5 (Years 9–10): “Understand how people’s management of resources impacts on environmental and social sustainability.”
Cultural Sensitivity: Standing Rock involved police force used against Indigenous people, and footage of it circulates freely. Preview any clip before showing it, and give an opt-out that costs nothing — some ākonga will have strong feelings about state force.
Treaty Connections: The Standing Rock Sioux argued treaty rights under Fort Laramie (1851, 1868) — a treaty argument made in the state’s own courts, as te Tiriti claims are. Compare how each state answered its own treaty.