Brigid Mark
Abstract
Alliances across difference confer significant benefits to social movements, including increased mobilization, visibility, and legitimacy. However, coalitions across differences are some of the most difficult to create and sustain over time. Social movement scholars have written much about the problems that difference poses for coalition success, as well as the importance of recognizing difference and inequality, yet relatively little about practices for doing so. Drawing on 24 interviews and a year of participant observation of frontline activism, my study examines the practices that the movement against the Line 3 pipeline employed during pipeline construction to address inequalities and sustain an alliance across Indigenous-white lines. My analysis suggests that the primary practice through which the movement attempted to address these power inequalities is the instruction to “follow Indigenous leadership.” This practice, implemented through movement discourse and reinforced in interactions, encouraged white activists to come to the frontlines to resist the pipeline; discouraged white domination of discussions, decision-making processes, and media coverage; increased white activists’ awareness of Indigenous perspectives and concerns; and created relationships lasting beyond the end of pipeline construction. However, in spite of these strong norms, activists were aware of some complexities, questions, and problems that remained, including overly deferential behavior from white activists, tokenization, appropriation, white saviorism, and complexities in following Indigenous leaders who have different perspectives. I argue that developing an instruction rooted in social justice principles that is implemented through discourse and reinforced in interactions to guide work across difference can help to address power inequalities and sustain an alliance, and that, over time, this instruction must develop additional nuance to account for unanticipated problems.
M.A. in Sociology
University of Colorado Boulder
2023
Committee Members
Jill Harrison (Co-Chair)
Lori Peek (Co-Chair)
Clint Carroll
Brigid Mark is a graduate research assistant at the Natural Hazards Center and a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder. Mark's research focuses on climate justice, social movements, and Indigenous sovereignty. Mark’s research experience covers youth climate activism at the United Nations Climate Conferences (COPs) and the movement against the Line 3 tar sands pipeline in northern Minnesota.