The Legitimation & Networked Unification of #NoDAPL: Diverse Discourses of Value Validate a Collective Identity

NoDAPL was, first and foremost, an Indigenous-led resistance against the construction of a pipeline in North Dakota. It was also a movement that built solidarity, bridging networks between international Indigenous peoples, Black Lives Matter activists, veterans, and feminists. This discourse analysis of social media and digital texts addresses the networked publics, collective identities, social capital, and intersectionality in applying Van Leeuwen’s (2007) understanding of legitimation. In doing so, the practice of reproducing and extending the values, themes, and images of various algorithmic imaginaries will be explored, as they relate to network homophily, identity construction, and mobilization. This study will argue that discourse legitimized the NoDAPL movement by communicating ideologies, identities, and experiences, that were diverse and relevant to existing subject circles, in order to develop a flexibly inclusive collective identity, bridge local and global networks, and affectively amplify public engagement