The 'Not Afraid To Look' statue is a concrete and metal statue, of a Native American man sitting with crossed arms which rest on his bent knees. He sits on a hill above the Sacred Stone camp in North Dakota overlooking the area. The area in question is none other than the site of protests against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. This pipeline passes under the Missouri river, which is the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s main source of water. Its construction threatens the water and cultural resources of the Standing Rock Sioux, who argue that the pipeline violates the Fort Laramie Treaty. Article II of the treaty guarantees those who live on the reservation lands surrounding the location of the pipeline “undisturbed use and occupation.”
Charles Recountre, the artist behind this sculpture says the following in regards to the design and location of it: “He also observes the destruction by the Dakota Access Pipeline Project, the Energy Transfer Partnership, and the United States and North Dakotan governments that continue to disregard laws of the US constitution and common sense.” Charles himself is a Lakota, and is part of the Oceti Sakowin and Seven Council Fire. He created this statue in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, who he considers his relatives.
The statue draws its name and inspiration from “Not Afraid to Look the White Man in the Face,” which is a smoking pipe originally carved during a period of heavy fighting between indigenous people and the U.S. government in the Northern plains. The pipe includes a carving of the same visual of the Native American sitting as the statue. Except on the other end of the pipe, there is a carving of a much larger head of a white man. Still, the Native American man stares resolutely at the white man, in resistance. Similarly, the statue is unafraid to face what has happened due the construction of the pipeline, and calls for the continued action and resistance to issues that cause harm to Native American communities and the earth. Hence, ‘Not Afraid To Look’ is also a tribute and a symbol for people fighting to protect natural resources around the world.
Finally, the symbol is meant to pay tribute to Charles’ ancestors as well as Native Americans today. About this, he says: “Not Afraid To Look begins as a symbol from my Plains ancestors, who remind me that although we have faced genocide—we continue to thrive in many good and surprising ways. We are here. And we are here despite outsiders who tried to kill or erase us all. We are also changing.”