Oklahoma Social Studies USH.C.9.2.E
The Standard
- USH.C.9
- Analyze contemporary turning points of 21st century American society.
- USH.C.9.2
- Analyze the significant events during the Barack Obama administration.
Identify the outcome of the grassroots protests of the Dakota Access Pipeline and its potential impact on Tribal water resources and cultural sites.
Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies (2026) · USH.C.9.2
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain what protesters wanted and what happened to the pipeline after the protests. They describe possible risks to Tribal water and cultural sites without treating those risks as confirmed damage.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can explain that the protests helped bring a temporary pause in 2016, but the pipeline was later approved and began carrying oil. They can name a possible water contamination risk and explain why construction near burial or sacred sites raised concern.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think the protests stopped the pipeline for good, or that there was no temporary pause. Some assume Tribal drinking water was contaminated, or miss the concern about cultural sites.
How to Assess It
- Use this exit ticket: “What happened to the pipeline after the 2016 protests? Name one possible effect on Tribal water and one on cultural sites.”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a printed Lake Oahe map; have them mark the pipeline crossing and trace where a possible spill could travel downstream.
Ask students to write two sentences answering, “What changed after the protests, and what did not?”
Hand out dated event cards for the protest, temporary pause, later approval, and start of oil flow; have groups put them in order.
Show a local drinking water source map and ask students to compare its spill risks with the concerns raised at Lake Oahe.
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