People from Manitoba have joined the thousands flocking to the protest camp at Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota.

Indigenous people and their supporters have set up a months-long blockade to stop construction of the Dakota Access pipeline, which they say threatens their drinking water and ancestral lands.

The protests have drawn indigenous people from across Canada and the United States.

Angie Catcheway, who lives in Dauphin, just returned early Sunday morning after visiting the Sacred Stone Camp. She went along with her cousin Ariel Chartrand and Ariel’s cousins, Denise and Destiny McKay, all members of Pine Creek First Nation.

READ MORE: Dakota Access pipeline explained: What you need to know

They drove down to offer their support to the people in the camp, an experience she described as “once-in-a-lifetime.”

As they entered the camp, they saw flags from all over the world that people had set up, and noticed that no one had left a Canadian flag.

They found a small Manitoba flag, and wrote the name of their First Nation and Treaty 4, to represent where they come from.

(Source: Angie Catcheway)

Catcheway said people in the camp are very welcoming and positive, and she said images of violence between protesters, police and security forces don’t represent everything that is happening at the site.

“It’s unfortunate that it’s happening but that’s not all that’s going on down there. Where we were, in the actual camp itself, it’s a really calming environment.”

READ MORE: North Dakota officials borrow $4M, slam feds on protest cost

As winter approaches, protesters are preparing to remain in the camp. Catcheway said she saw people building shelters, and camp leaders have put out a call for supplies.

On Sunday, a group of energy activists in Winnipeg filled a vehicle with gear to take down to the camp.

“The main needs for Standing Rock right now are winter gear,” said Alex Paterson, a campaigner with the Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition. “Whether it’s winter sleeping bags, winter blankets, winter coats. They’re really gearing up to stay the winter, so they’re asking for that cold weather gear.”

Paterson said it’s important for people in Manitoba to show solidarity with people fighting against the Dakota Access pipeline.

“We need to show people down there that we have their backs and when it comes our turn to defend the water from the Energy East pipeline or the Kinder Morgan pipeline that someone will have our back.”