College gives formerly incarcerated indigenous rights advocate $100k, two-week residency

Dickinson College has gifted a $100,000 prize and a two-week residency to an environmental and indigenous rights advocate for her “active role in the movement to defund fossil fuels.”

On Sept. 19, Dickinson awarded activist Tara Houska with the 2023 Sam Rose ‘58 and Julie Walters Prize for Global Environmental Activism.

“Houska, a citizen of Couchiching First Nation, is a prominent opponent of the Line 3 and Dakota Access pipelines and plays an active role in the movement to defund fossil fuels,” the press release states.

[RELATED: University implements plan to pay tuition for Native American students]

This is the most recent initiative of Dickinson College regarding indigenous rights activism. In February, Dickinson announced the development of its new Center for the Futures of Native Peoples, which will be financed with a $800K grant from the Mellon Foundation. Dickinson also updated its land acknowledgement in 2021. 

“This is an opportunity for Dickinson to turn boldly toward its history and continue the hard work of reconciling with that past,” Darren Lone Flight, Dickinson assistant professor of American studies, said. 

Canadian oil company Enrbidge owns the Line 3 pipeline that spans 1,097 miles and transports 760,000 barrels of oil per day. Houska was arrested and detained overnight for trespassing the pipeline’s construction site in December 2020.

Energy Transfer Partners owns the Dakota Access Pipeline that moves oil 1,170 miles from western North Dakota to Illinois. Houska camped at Standing Rock for six months, protesting the pipeline’s construction.

During her residency, Houska will celebrate Indigenous People’s Day on Oct. 9, as well as the opening of Dickinson’s new Center for the Futures of Native Peoples.  She will also discuss her work as a tribal attorney, land defender, and founder of the nonprofit, Giniw Collective.

Houska also previously worked as a law clerk for the Obama administration and advised Bernie Sanders on Native American issues during his 2016 presidential campaign.

[RELATED: Woman who faked Native American heritage was awarded university residency] 

Campus Reform has reported on the trend of colleges and universities awarding residencies to indigenous “experts.” Universities are often eager to provide indigenous scholars with residencies and land acknowledgements, but rarely do anything to restore land formerly occupied by Native Americans.  

In January, the University of Wisconsin-Madison awarded a $5,000 residency to Kay LeClaire, an indigenous expert who was recently exposed for faking her Native American ancestry, Campus Reform reported.

LeClaire served as “community leader in residence for the Center for Design and Material Culture,” a residency dedicated to “the development of a toolkit and curriculum around cultural appropriation,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Pipelines are a crucial part of American infrastructure, according to TC Energy, a company that focuses on the transportation of natural gas and oil. “Pipeline transport is safer, more efficient, and creates fewer GHG emissions than ship, truck or train,” the TC Energy website explains.  

Campus Reform contacted Dickinson College, Tara Houska, and the Giniw Collective. This article will be updated accordingly. 

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