Feed THe
flame

Feed the Flame documents the final three weeks leading up to and including the eviction on Feb 23rd, 2017 of the Oceti Oyate Camp, formerly known as the Oceti Sakowin Camp, located just north of Cannon Ball, North Dakota. Serving as the epicenter and headquarters for the indigenous led movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline, Oceti Sakowin was the main resistance camp and home to, at one point, thousands of Water Protectors.

Fulfilling a Lakota prophecy of a black snake that would rise from the depths of the earth delivering great sorrow and destruction, the Dakota Access Pipeline’s 1,172-mile route passes through unceded treaty lands of historical and spiritual significance, including sacred burial grounds. The $3.78 billion project transports crude oil from the Bakken region in North Dakota to an oil tank farm in Patoka, Illinois, running underneath the Missouri River. A rupture of the pipeline poses risks of contamination to the primary water supply to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

The Dakota Access Pipeline protests were defined as an unprecedented moment in history, ignited by the actions of the Lakota youth, of whom united all seven bands of the Lakota-Dakota-Nakota (Sioux) Nation for the first time in over 140 years, along with over 200 tribes and thousands of non-indigenous allies from around the globe for one purpose: to protect the water. Although the physical encampment was forcibly removed and the Sacred Fire extinguished, a spiritual fire was lit among many. 

Since the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) became fully operational on June 1, 2017, it has faced multiple leaks, including five within its first six months. A 2024 report also revealed that during its construction phase in 2017, 1.4 million gallons of drilling fluid leaked under Lake Oahe—water vital to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Despite these incidents, DAPL continues to operate amid intense legal battles. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has filed new lawsuits in October 2024 to challenge the pipeline’s legality, claiming it lacks a valid easement under Lake Oahe. This fight is part of a broader movement for indigenous, humanitarian and environmental justice against the expansion of corporate greed.