Donald Trump has cleared the way for the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline days after a massive oil spill on aboriginal land in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

A pipeline in Stoughton leaked 200,000 litres of oil in an aboriginal community, the provincial government said on Monday.

The spill will provide further validation for the tribes and activists who campaigned against the Dakota Access pipeline at Standing Rock, which is 600km south of Stoughton. But it will also set alarm bells ringing.

It was argued that the pipeline threatened to contaminate the local water supply and traverse sacred burial grounds. After a prolonged showdown between protesters and the police, the Obama administration announced the pipeline would be rerouted in December. Now that decision has been undone by President Trump, protests are set to be revived.

The provincial government was notified about the latest spill late in the afternoon on Friday, and 170,000 litres have since been recovered, said Doug McKnight, assistant deputy minister in the Ministry of the Economy, which regulates pipelines in Saskatchewan.

It comes seven months after another major incident in Saskatchewan, in which a Husky Energy Inc pipeline leaked 225,000 litres into a major river and cut off the drinking water supply for two cities.

Mr McKnight said Tundra Energy Marketing Inc, which has a line adjacent to the spill, is leading cleanup efforts.

"There are a number of pipes in the area," he told reporters in Regina. "Until we excavate it, we won't know with 100-percent certainty which pipe."

Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Show all 15 1 /15 Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota A person pours a pepper spray antidote into a protester's eyes during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota People swim across a river to where the police officers are standing guard during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota A man holds up a ceremonial object while police officers look down from a hill during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota, U.S Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota People protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota November Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Two people stand in the water of a river while police officers guard the shore during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota A man stands on a makeshift bridge over a river while police officers stand on the opposite shore during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota, U.S Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Police use pepper spray against protesters in a boat during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota, U.S Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Police use pepper spray against protesters in a boat during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota, U.S Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Police use pepper spray against protesters in a boat during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota, U.S Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Tonya Stands recovers after being pepper sprayed by police after swimming across a creek with other protesters hoping to build a new camp to block construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, near Cannon Ball, Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Dakota Access Pipeline protesters stand in the foreground and in the waist-deep water of the Cantapeta Creek, northeast of the Oceti Sakowin Camp, near Cannon Ball, N.D., Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016. Officers in riot gear clashed again Wednesday with protesters near the Dakota Access pipeline, hitting dozens with pepper spray as they waded through waist-deep water in an attempt to reach property owned by the pipeline's developer. Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Dakota Access Pipeline protesters stand in the foreground and in the waist-deep water of the Cantapeta Creek, northeast of the Oceti Sakowin Camp, near Cannon Ball, N.D., Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016. Officers in riot gear clashed again Wednesday with protesters near the Dakota Access pipeline, hitting dozens with pepper spray as they waded through waist-deep water in an attempt to reach property owned by the pipeline's developer. Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota People who were tear gassed return to the shore during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota, Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota People yell at police officers standing on the opposite shore of a river during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota, U.S Reuters Protesters occupy Standing Rock reservation, North Dakota Police use pepper spray against protesters in a boat during a protest against the building of a pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannonball, North Dakota, U.S Reuters

Tundra, a privately held unit of Canadian grain trading and energy conglomerate James Richardson and Sons Ltd, released a statement saying it is cooperating with all levels of government and will ensure "the affected land is restored appropriately."

The incident happened in the lands of the Ocean Man First Nation, 87 miles southeast of the provincial capital of Regina, according to the province.

Mr McKnight said the spill has been contained in the low-lying area in which it was discovered. Ocean Man Chief Connie Big Eagle said the spill was 15 metres (50 feet) in diameter on Friday.

Ocean Man has 540 residents, one-third of whom live on the reserve, Big Eagle said.

She said an area resident who had smelled the scent of oil for a week located the spill and alerted her on Friday. The chief said there are no homes near the spill but it is about 400 metres (1,320 feet) from the local cemetery.

"We have got to make sure that Tundra has done everything that they can to get our land back to the way it was. That can take years," she said. "They have assured me that they follow up and they don't leave ... until we are satisfied."