STANDING ON GUARD Horses and riders from the Rosebud reservation arrive to support the Standing Rock community in their fight to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline from crossing their lands. The horses are in traditional Lakota regalia.
Over 1,000 protestors from an estimated 100 tribes marched in opposition to the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline which owners hope will carry oil from western North Dakota to Illinois. So far, over 28 people have been arrested since last week, including Standing Rock Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault, and charged with disorderly conduct.
BISMARCK, ND-In mid-August, the U.S. government gave final approval for the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which when completed will run for 1,172 miles to transport crude oil from North Dakota's Bakken oilfields to Patoka, Illinois.
When it was learned that the pipeline was approved, hundreds of protesters, primarily Lakota and Dakota from surrounding reservations gathered at the edge of the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota to voice their anger and concern. The Standing Rock Tribe filed for both a permanent and preliminary injunction to block the pipeline's construction.
The pipeline is scheduled to travel through Lakota lands and cross under the Missouri, Mississippi and Big Sioux rivers. A spill, which does occur with pipelines, would mean contaminating farmland and drinking water for millions of people as well as wildlife affected.
After many intense interactions with North Dakota State Police and numerous arrests, construction was finally stopped by protesters, at least for now.
In a situation of historical irony, after the work shutdown, law enforcement pulled back from the protest site on Highway 1806 to a communication command center at Fort Lincoln State Park. The park preserves the fort from which the cavalry and Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer left to never return after a fatal battle against the Sioux. A replica of Custer's captured flag was flying among others at the protest site.
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