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Sara Hylton

Canadian storyteller focusing on gender + human rights |

www.sarahylton.com

The Bakken oil shale's impact on Native American women

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Location: Mumbai, India

Nationality: Canadian

Biography: Sara Hylton is an award-winning photographer and explorer recognized for her compassionate and intimate approach to human rights issues. Hylton is a faculty member at the International Center of Photography and holds an MA from Kings College... MORE

An event for missing and murder...e Missoula state fair, Montana.

1 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

An event for missing and murdered Native American women and girls at the Missoula state fair, Montana.

Heather Belgrade, 23, with her ... been more peaceful.”

2 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

Heather Belgrade, 23, with her dog, Vador, near her home in Fort Kipp, on Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Heather lost her best friend, Savannah Greywind to a brutal murder, and her cousin, Olivia Lonebear, was found dead on Fort Berthold Reservation. “I hope one day we can get [them] justice…[they] didn’t deserve to die like that...it should have been more peaceful.”

Heather Belgrade, 23, shows a t... who she believes protects her.

3 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

Heather Belgrade, 23, shows a tattoo of her grandmother, who she believes protects her.

A view of the Missouri River ne... The family suspects foul play.

4 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

A view of the Missouri River near Fort Peck Indian reservation in Northeastern Montana. It is not just Native american women who are vulnerable, Clair Fourstar, of Fort Peck Indian Reservation went missing on June 27th, 2019 south of Wolf Point. His body was recovered from the Missouri River on July 5th, 2019. The family suspects foul play.

Prairiedawn Thunderchild (right...from us” Tahnee said.

5 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

Prairiedawn Thunderchild (right), 16, with her sister Tahnee Thunderchild (center), 14, and their mother, stand for a portrait at the Wolf Point pow wow on Fort Peck Indian reservation. The sisters were almost abducted a year ago by a vehicle of oil workers in Wolf Point. The family has since moved to a safer location. “They chased us around in the car…[they] probably wanted gross things from us” Tahnee said.

$A fracking location in Willisto...na, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.$

6 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

A fracking location in Williston, North Dakota, part of the Bakken oil shale that has seen a large influx of temporary oil workers. The Bakken area encompasses North Dakota, Montana, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

A freight train carrying crude ...h Blackfeet Indian reservation.

7 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

A freight train carrying crude oil travels through Blackfeet Indian reservation.

The Bakken oil shale's impact on Native American women

8 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

A herd of cows near the North D...ls, leaks, fires, and blowouts.

9 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

A herd of cows near the North Dakota-Montana state border. Some farmers and ranchers who own land where oil is being extracted have become wealthy, but the rapid growth of oil workers from outside of these often small communities has brought drugs and crime and the multi-billion dollar industry has led to a soaring number of spills, leaks, fires, and blowouts.

Tara Douglas Ricker, 44, with h...ard stories of sex trafficking.

10 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

Tara Douglas Ricker, 44, with her two grand-daughters outside of her home in Wolf Point on Fort Peck Indian Reservation. One of Tara’s brothers, Valen Hotomanie, remains missing today, while her other brother, Clair Fourstar, was found dead in the Missouri River. She worries for her grand-daughters, she has seen an increase in drugs and has heard stories of sex trafficking.

An abandoned “man cam...n which they reside.”

11 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

An abandoned “man camp” which provides housing to temporary oil workers near Trenton, North Dakota. Oil employees come in the thousands, with disposable income, and are often subjected to difficult working conditions. The Department of Justice state that: “oil industry cmaps may be impacting domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in the direct and surrounding communities in which they reside.”

Valerie Whitehawk, 61, and her ...k Indian Reservation.

12 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

Valerie Whitehawk, 61, and her grand-daughter, Macylilly, 8, stand for a portrait outside of their home on Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

The children of Clarence McNabb... became a social media hashtag.

13 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

The children of Clarence McNabb play at their home in Browning on Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Western Montana. The children’s father was working in the oil fields in Williston, North Dakota and was found dead on December 21st, 2017. Clarence’s mother, Ruby Young Running Crane, believes her son was murdered, though her suspicions have not been backed by police findings. “Justiceforclarence became a social media hashtag.

Kenny Still Smoking, 71, at his...o;s hard to breathe.”

14 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

Kenny Still Smoking, 71, at his home in Browning, on Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Montana. Native American women and girls have long been targeted. Kenny’s daughter, Monica Still Smoking disappeared in 1979 from school and was found frozen to death on a mountain when she was seven years old. Kenny still has no answers as to what happened to his daughter. A medicine man told him that “the man you want isn’t the man you got.” Kenny hears different stories periodically, which he finds confusing: “all I want is something done for her, I’m almost dying, it’s hard to breathe.”

The sun sets at the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

15 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

The sun sets at the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

Valenda Morigeau, Jermain Charl... 2018, 23-year-old in Missoula.

16 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

Valenda Morigeau, Jermain Charlo’s aunt, holds a photograph of her niece at an event for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Missoula, Montana at Missoula fair. Jermain Charlo went missing on June 15, 2018, 23-year-old in Missoula.

Coretta Greybear, 49, of the Fo...ve more presence and patroling.

17 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

Coretta Greybear, 49, of the Fort Peck tribal police, visits on old case she investigated where 13-month-old Kenzley Olson was found dead in a trash can. Ms. Greybear believes that girls are more vulnerable than boys. In anticipation of more man camps, Ms. Greybear expects tribal police will have more presence and patroling.

Mary Eder Cleland in Wolf Point...r murdered” she said.

18 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

Mary Eder Cleland in Wolf Point, Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Northeastern Montana. Mary’s adopted daughter, Dawn Eder, went missing five years ago, she would be 29 today. “Nobody cares about a poor Indian being missing or murdered” she said.

An event for missing and murder...e Missoula state fair, Montana.

19 of 19 © 2024 Sara Hylton

An event for missing and murdered Native American women and girls at the Missoula state fair, Montana.

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Public Story

The Bakken oil shale's impact on Native American women

Copyright Sara Hylton 2024

Updated Feb 2022

Location Fort Peck

Topics Spotlight

On July 31, 2018, 33-year-old Olivia Lone Bear, from Fort Berthold Indian Reservation and a member of the Spirit Lake Tribe, was found dead in a submerged truck in North Dakota’s Lake Sakakawea. Lone Bear’s death is not an isolated incident – Native American women are sexually assaulted, murdered, and disappearing at rates far higher than other American women. Between Montana and North Dakota in the Bakken region, the problem has become particularly critical. As transient oil workers take up work and are placed in “man camps” or temporary housing units, attacks on Native American women have increased.

My previous reporting on missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada began over two years ago. With support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis reporting, I expanded this work in the Bakken oil shale (North Dakota and Montana) area. While humanizing grieving families, I hone in on why Native American women (and men) are targeted with impunity, how the oil industry is involved, and the complications of what “justice” actually means for Native American communities.

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