Why I went to Standing Rock

Ryan Vizzions, born Ryan Pusser, is perhaps best known as one of the more respected photographers who occupies Atlanta’s underground art circles. In 2014, Vizzions was awarded a Readers Pick for Best Fine Art Photographer in Creative Loafing’s Best of Atlanta issue. The following year he received CL’s Critics Pick for Best Cityscape Photographer. Since September 2016, Vizzions, 33, has remained on the front lines at Standing Rock, North Dakota, documenting the fight to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline from scarring sovereign Native American land and tunneling underneath the Missouri River. Working as part of the media team for the Sioux Tribe’s Oceti Sakowin Camp, Vizzions says he’s witnessed countless human rights violations and illegal activities, while giving protesters a voice on his Standing Rock Rising Facebook page. He describes his experiences there as both spiritual and powerful. Along the way, one of his photographs, titled “Defend the Sacred,” has appeared in publications including Newsweek and People magazine’s “Year in Pictures” spread, among others.

During a brief return to Atlanta, Vizzions sat down to discuss his photography, his experiences at Standing Rock, and working outside the mainstream media to give a voice to resistance movements around the country.
How did you get into photography?
I got into photography in 2009, when my dad committed suicide. I worked for QuikTrip for about 10 years. I was 26 years old and had to rediscover who I was. I quit working my job and pulled out my retirement so I could travel. I bought a ticket to Thailand, and I bought a camera from Oh Snap Kid.
Did you have photography experience before that?
No. I wanted to bring a camera with me to take pictures. I went during a big civil uprising against the military called the Red Shirt Protests. The Department of Homeland Security sent me an email saying, “It’s super dangerous, don’t go.” But I’d already bought the ticket. I went anyway.
I showed up in Thailand during a civil war. In Bangkok, citizens had built a resistance camp surrounded by bamboo, spikes and tires. I wanted to see what was going on, so I walked through a no man’s land where military police were lined up. Everybody assumed I’m a photojournalist. Why else would a white guy from America with a camera be there?
My photos were horrible. I didn’t know how to use a camera, but it was good for my soul. Children of parents who commit suicide are six times more likely to kill themselves. Photography is how I get out of my depressive modes.
I also wanted to use photography for social justice. During the Anthony Hill case — a police officer shot and killed a naked, unarmed black man. I documented protesters camping outside the courthouse waiting for the judgement. In June, I documented Black Lives Matter every day.
What took you to Standing Rock?
Something came across my newsfeed about the dog attacks at Standing Rock. I wanted to know more. I made a Facebook comment: “Anybody want to give me a $1,000 to fly to Standing Rock?” Someone who supports my photography said: “Yeah, I’ll buy your ticket.”
Seeing what a resistance really looks like was spiritual and powerful. I came back to Atlanta for a few weeks to raise money and buy supplies. I went back to document what’s going on. Now, I work with the Oceti Sakowin [Camp] media team. It’s the largest camp at Standing Rock. You can only have Oceti Sakowin Camp when all seven bands of the Sioux come together. The last time that happened [was at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876].
What does the media team do?
We speak for the camp. I have my own [Facebook] page, Standing Rock Rising. Oceti Sakowin Camp is in peace and prayer. When they talk on that page it has to be respectful. My page is where I poke the bear, as we like to say. I call out the cops, talk trash and say things that can’t be said on the Oceti Sakowin page.
We also run an emergency shelter during blizzards. Nobody there has just one job. You do whatever you can to make sure people don’t die.
It sounds like wartime conditions.
The police have done everything they can to create wartime conditions, aside from actually killing somebody. I’ve seen medics shot in the head with rubber bullets.
Calling them “rubber bullets” sounds like they’re not so bad. But they’re more like hard plastic projectiles.
Yeah. They fire at the speed of a bullet. Also, November 20th is what we call “Backwater Sunday.” You’ve probably seen footage from the bridge where police spray people with water cannons in below freezing temperatures. They’re also spraying tear gas. A woman named Sioux Z [aka Vanessa Dundon] was hit directly in the face with a tear gas canister. ... Another woman, Sophia Wilansky, had [a portion of] an arm blown off when she was hit with a concussion grenade, which is pretty much what it sounds like.
Why did you want to insert yourself into this situation?
I wanted to help people. I wanted to document civil and human rights violations, and to continue the Atlanta legacy. This town is the birthplace of the civil rights movement.
Being at Standing Rock is like being in the epicenter of freedom in the United States. It’s literally the only place in America where the [government] won’t step in. Their law doesn’t work there. But now there are so many eyes on Standing Rock that DAPL and the police can’t just raid it and kill people. If it weren’t for social media and live streaming and the ability to instantly spread news about what’s happening, I have no doubt that people would’ve been killed. It would have been just like Wounded Knee. Now, you can’t hide it. They’ve blocked cell phone signals for months. Nobody could get on their phones there. Nobody could get Wi-Fi. You have planes flying overhead 24 hours a day. They’ve got Stingrays, which collect people’s information. I guarantee my phone is tapped right now. I’m not worried about it because I openly don’t care if they hear what I’m saying.
What’s the situation now?
After the easement was granted— which it wasn’t — DAPL basically said “fuck you” to our government. They’re still working on it; hoping that Trump will push it through. After news of the easement came out the tribe encouraged people to go home. Everybody who is there during winter is a liability. There are nearly 2,000 people still there.
Many people think there’s been a victory, but there’s no victory until all of that pipe has been pulled out of the ground.
How do you feel your coverage with the Oceti Sakowin media team compares to the mainstream media’s coverage?
Mainstream media’s coverage has been a joke. And fuck CNN. There’s an action that happened where they got a story from the Morton County Sheriff’s Department about what happened. They talked to people at the camps too. But the story only shared Morton County’s perspective. They ignored everything the water protectors said.
Being from Atlanta, I was outraged. So I worked with Keith William [of the band Wake] to organize an action for fair coverage at the CNN Center. Three days later CNN shows up with their truck. I walked straight up to that trailer, knocked on the door and said, “We’re the media now. You’ve proven that we can’t trust you.”
Did you think their reporting was more balanced after that?
Oh, yeah. They did a bunch of stuff about the water protectors, but it literally took me calling them out.
How do you want to build on your experiences at Standing Rock?
The plan is to sell prints of these photos to raise funds. A percentage of the money will go to the three camps at Standing Rock. The rest will be used to buy supplies. My plan is to go to different resistances around the country: In Chaco Canyon, the Hopi and Navajo are fighting uranium mining that’s polluting the waters there. The Sabal Trail is a pipeline in Florida. Diamond Pipeline in Arkansas. Keystone is probably gonna start back up once Trump takes office. I want to help train people, and give them an editor spot on my Standing Rock Rising page.
I want people to be able to explain exactly what’s happening. Because of how modern media is run, you can never tell what’s true and not. You can only trust the people who are there witnessing it. Even that can be skewed. But even if it’s opinionated, it’s coming from the source. It hasn’t been filtered through five editors who want to put a spin on a situation. I want to give people a voice.

Previous Next