This final chapter argues that, as readers, we can deconstruct junctures of power, ideological beliefs and social equity by examining social discourse surrounding the discovery of a 9000-year-old skeleton in the Pacific Northwest and by the recent construction of a crude oil pipeline on traditional Sioux lands.
I argue that a sober examination of the discourse on the case studies shows power in play: where scientific viewpoints hold greater currency than Indigenous knowledges, and where empirical methods of conducting research sometimes displaces moral judgments. In essence, our beliefs are moored to cultural underpinnings that seem, well, normal. But, as critics have suggested, “normal” is the varnish that coats our beliefs. When scientists insist on their right to dig through the bones of an ancient human, their freedoms are framed as correct and just, because discourse conflates empiricism with truth. American Indian tribes in the Northwest argued that, in a pluralistic democracy like ours, their rights and freedoms are also just and no less legitimate than the scientists’ claims.
News discourse offers a metaphorical slate where meanings are created and negotiated. But the discursive slate is hardly blank—the slate is engrainedd with meanings that arise from struggles over power: who gets to frame messages, and what are the ensuing power dynamics? How are such messages ideological, and where how do equity and justice prevail?
We can see how the construction of the crude oil pipeline gets framed as “energy independence” that offers “freedom” from reliance on foreign sources of petroleum products. But the discourse poorly informs publics on who profits from such independence. Hidden from view are the junctures of power that link commercial power-brokers with government officials, news organizations, and other parties charged with making decisions and sharing information on behalf of all citizens. Social equity gets trumped by special interests, and, as a result, Native Americans pay the price for other Americans’ prosperity.
Despite the toll taken on equity and justice for Native Americans, resistance seen in the pipeline protest and the demand for the repatriation of Kennewick Man signals a transformation from transgression and defiance to resilience. Perhaps we can take heart, knowing that Indigenous voices are being heard via their own media channels, and without censorship from non-Indians.
