The Last Days of Standing Rock

Oceti Sakowin Camp, North Dakota - Winter 2017

This series is a firsthand look into a closing chapter of a movement. As the bitter winter of 2017 took hold, I watched the landscape of the Oceti Sakowin camp completely transform. After the tensions and noise of the protests had left, I set out to document the quiet, heavy reality of a historic gathering ground giving way to the elements. These frames track that shift—the dismantling of shelters, the encroaching debris of well-intentioned donations decaying in the snow, and the raw perseverance of the people remaining. This is what I saw in the quiet spaces of those final days.

Black and white landscape of a ice-covered Cannonball River at the Standing Rock protest camp, with vast tire tracks in the snow and two distant figures walking under a dramatic winter sky.

Black and white documentary photograph of the entrance to the Standing Rock protest camp in the winter of 2017, featuring an upside-down American flag flying amidst a snow-covered landscape with tents and structures in the background.

Black and white wide-angle photograph looking down a snowy, muddy path as a camper is towed through the Standing Rock camp, lined with various flags on tall poles, tipis, and makeshift shelters under a cloudy winter sky.

Black and white photograph of a tall wooden sign planted in a snow-covered field at the Standing Rock camp. The sign lists handwritten guidelines titled "Direct Action Principle" and notes "Meeting Everyday 2:00 PM" at the bottom.

Black and white documentary photograph of makeshift winter shelters and a small tarp-covered structure built on a snow-covered hillside at the Standing Rock camp. A small flag flies from a wooden post under a cloudy sky.

Black and white documentary photograph of a small plywood winter shelter built into the snow at the Standing Rock camp. A large, weathered American flag flies upside down from a makeshift flagpole next to the structure.

Close-up black and white documentary portrait focusing on the top of a person's head wearing a light-colored winter knit hat against a soft, blurred background.

Black and white documentary photograph of a large pile of discarded tarps, gear, and debris sitting on a patch of snowy, muddy ground at the Standing Rock camp, with a large dump truck parked in the background.

Black and white photograph looking across a vast, flat snow-covered landscape at the Standing Rock camp under an overcast winter sky.

Black and white documentary photograph of a light-colored horse standing over a patch of dirt in a vast, snow-covered landscape at the Standing Rock camp, grazing near scattered gear and a tree stump.

Wide-angle black and white documentary photograph of a vast, flat snow-covered landscape under a pale winter sky, with a single bare tree standing prominently on the distant horizon line with an abandoned vehicle with the words "Fuck Trump" painted .

Black and white documentary photograph of a flat expanse of snow-covered ground at the Standing Rock camp, with faint structures or debris visible in the background under an overcast winter sky.

Detailed black and white photograph focusing on the canvas exterior of a traditional tipi, highlighting the dark wooden pins securing the vertical seam and hand-painted paw prints on either side of the fabric.

Close-up black and white documentary photograph showing a mother holding her young child while looking out the open door of a vintage school bus at the Standing Rock camp.

Black and white documentary photograph of four young children bundled in winter coats sitting together on large fallen logs in the snow. A woman stands just behind them, and a traditional white tipi rises into the pale sky in the background.

Close-up black and white documentary portrait of a child wearing a dark winter coat with a hood up, with the top of a tipi visible in the soft-focus background.

Close-up black and white documentary photograph of a dense pile of discarded plastic storage bins, cardboard boxes, blankets, and camp supplies scattered across a patch of melting snow at the Standing Rock camp.

Wide-angle black and white documentary photograph looking down a wide, slushy, and deeply rutted icy road carving through the snow toward a distant ridge lined with flags and camp structures under an overcast winter sky.

Close-up black and white documentary portrait of a person from the shoulders up wearing a patterned bandana tied around their head against a clean, bright sky background.

Close-up black and white documentary photograph of the side of a vintage school bus parked in the snow at the Standing Rock camp, featuring hand-painted text on the side that reads "LET WATER HEAL Our Bodies Minds & Souls" next to a white trailer.

Black and white documentary photograph focusing on the top of a traditional tipi, showing its long wooden support poles extending upward into a bright, cloudy winter sky.

Black and white documentary photograph of a snow-covered section of the Standing Rock camp, featuring cardboard supply boxes stacked on the left and a handmade wooden sign on the right that reads "MESS HALL."

Black and white documentary photograph capturing a large, cluttered pile of winter boots, shoes, and clothing discarded on a patch of muddy, snow-dusted ground amidst flattened cardboard boxes and tarps at the Standing Rock camp.

Black and white documentary photograph looking across a snow-covered expanse toward two large flags flying from a flagpole against a pale winter sky at the Standing Rock camp.

Close-up black and white documentary photograph showing the front skis of a Polaris Indy XC snowmobile parked on patchy snow next to a handmade wooden sign painted with indigenous symbols at the Standing Rock camp.

Black and white documentary photograph looking up at a white flag featuring a graphic emblem flying from a tall flagpole, with the bare wooden support poles of a traditional tipi rising into the sky just behind it.

Black and white documentary photograph of Ande and Kayla Blanchflower standing by the open doorway of a vintage diesel school bus parked in the snow at the Standing Rock camp, surrounded by plastic buckets and winter gear.

Black and white documentary photograph showing the interior of a converted school bus at the Standing Rock camp, where two young children sit together on a bed at the back of the bus surrounded by books and makeshift shelves.

Black and white documentary photograph of Ande and Kayla Blanchflower sitting in the cluttered, narrow living space inside a converted school bus at the Standing Rock camp, with clothes, bags, and winter supplies hanging from the ceiling and walls.

Close-up black and white documentary photograph of the interior floor of a traditional tipi at the Standing Rock camp, showing large cut logs, burlap sacks, and scattered debris on the dirt ground with a person walking in..

Black and white documentary photograph of an outdoor winter camp scene at Standing Rock, featuring several animal hides and burlap coffee sacks hanging to dry with clothespins on a large, triangular wooden pole frame in a snow-covered field.

Wide-angle black and white documentary photograph looking across a vast, flat snow-covered field at the Standing Rock camp, with a large mechanical excavator working in the distance near a traditional tipi under an overcast winter sky.

Black and white documentary photograph of a hillside cemetery at the Standing Rock camp covered in snow, featuring numerous simple wooden crosses and a single tall pole standing against an overcast winter sky.

Wide-angle black and white documentary photograph of a vast, snow-covered landscape at Standing Rock, featuring a prominent dark line on the snowy horizon representing the contested oil pipeline that was being protested.

A moving, cinematic look inside the final, bitter winter days at the Oceti Sakowin camp. This short documentary film captures the harsh realities, changing landscape, and enduring spirit of the historic Standing Rock movement before the camp’s closure in 2017. Filmed and directed by Parker J Pfister.

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