One Book South Dakota author Estes in Aberdeen Thursday to speak about Indigenous movements

One Book South Dakota author Nick Estes will be in Aberdeen Thursday to talk about his book, "Our History is the Future."

His talk is at 7 p.m. at the K.O. Lee Aberdeen Public Library, 215 Fourth Ave. S.E.

His book puts the Indigenous-led movement to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline into historical context, according to a news release from the library.

Estes will visit several South Dakota communities this summer and will speak at the 2022 South Dakota Festival of Books, Sept. 23-25 in Brookings.

His book addresses timely issues of regional relevance and puts them in the context of centuries of Indigenous resistance to injustice. It has a particular focus on the experiences of the Oceti Sakowin – the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people – according to the release.

A native of Chamberlain and a citizen of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Estes spent more than a decade researching the book, which fills a gap he saw in historical literature.

“Many of our movements throughout history were started by humble people, and those humble people were the ones who changed history and changed the future of this planet,” he said in the release. “That’s incredible. And that’s something that I think everyone, whether you’re Indigenous or not, should feel inspired by.”

Copies of “Our History Is the Future” are available for checkout at the library.

Estes recently joined the Department of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota. In 2014, he co-founded The Red Nation, an Indigenous resistance organization. His research engages colonialism and global Indigenous histories, with a focus on decolonization, U.S. imperialism, environmental justice, anti-capitalism and the Oceti Sakowin, per the release.

With Jaskiran Dhillon, Estes edited the volume “Standing with Standing Rock: Voices from the #NoDAPL Movement."

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: One Book South Dakota Nick Estes author tour