In 2016, one of the biggest stories was about the demonstrations at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota. Videos show protestors resisting the military and police’s attempts to clear the area. Scores of people were arrested. You may have even seen friends on your own Facebook feed check into the Reservation as a form of solidarity. Earlier this month, these protestors won a major victory in the fight for Native American land.
To give context for this victory, you have to go back to January of this year, when the Dakota Access company announced their plans to build a 1,172-mile long oil pipeline that would go through the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. This announcement brought about major backlash, as the pipeline posed a great risk of an oil spill to the water supply of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation, as well as being built right across their sacred land. As a result of this, hundreds of Native Americans of many different tribes, environmentalists, and activists alike flooded into North Dakota to block the pipeline’s path. These protests came to a head in September, when at least 30 people were pepper sprayed and pit bulls were released onto a crowd of men, women, and children.
In early December, the activists had their voices heard when the federal government and the Army Corps of Engineers announced their plan to prevent the pipeline from being constructed through the Sioux land and to search for alternative routes after conducting an environmental impact study. With this, protestors began to celebrate. They gathered at the Oceti Sakowin campground to sing ancestral songs, pray, and revel in their victory. As winter began to set in at the campsite, many made plans to leave.
However, others warn that the fight isn’t over yet. Many protestors plan to stay at the site until the government scraps the pipeline altogether, and others are moving from North Dakota to Washington, D.C., to fight for Native American rights in the courtroom in a lawsuit against the company. President-Elect Trump supports the project, with the head of Dakota Access being a Trump investor. One thing is clear: people need to keep voicing their support for the Standing Rock Sioux and for protecting the environment going forward.

Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Images