The project, which will run through sacred sites and under the water supply of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, could also affect the water supply of as many as 25 million people in the event of an environmental disaster.

Leena Minifie, editor with Ricochet’s Indigenous Reporting Fund, recently joined the protest encampment outside of Cannon Ball, North Dakota and has filed a series of reports for Ricochet Media. In this conversation, she discusses what she witnessed at the encampment.

Click here for more background and historical context to this story.

To learn more about the ongoing fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline or for information on how to get involved check out the Indigenous Environmental Network.