Precolonial Indigenous cultures were the antithesis of the patriarchal, White supremacist, dominionist, imperialistic system brought by settlers. Many Native nations have matriarchal origins, so it should come as no surprise that Indigenous women have emerged as leaders in the effort to stop pipelines from crossing their territory, the very vessels that carry the toxic fossil fuels being held responsible for causing the climate crisis.

LaDonna Brave Bull Allard is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. When she discovered that the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) was about to be built through Lakota treaty lands, under the freshwater source of her Tribe and millions of people downstream, and through the burial sites of her family members and ancestors, she put out a call for help that would eventually be heeded by tens of thousands of people from all over the world.

She founded Sacred Stone (Íŋyaŋwakağapi) Camp on April 1, 2016, in opposition to the pipeline, and to protect the land and water. “I think what happened on the Cannon Ball River was a vision of our ancestors. My great great grandfather Tatanka Ohikita had a sundance in the 1800s on the place close to Sacred Stone Camp,” LaDonna says.

Cannon Ball is the home of the Upper Yanktonai, Cut Head, and Lower Yanktonai Dakota of Standing Rock Reservation. On their 1804 expedition, explorers Lewis and Clark traveled up the Cannon Ball River for six miles.

LaDonna’s issues with the Dakota Access Pipeline are legitimate. The pipeline violates Article II of the Fort Laramie Treaty, that guarantees the Tribe “undisturbed use and occupation” of reservation lands surrounding the proposed location of the pipeline. If it leaks into the river, the fresh water for millions of people will be poisoned. Since DAPL was pushed through by an executive order signed by President Trump just days after his inauguration, it’s had numerous spills. It leaked five times in its first year of operation.

The area is replete with burial sites and artifacts, too. “The Cannon Ball River area has 296 archeological sites and 334 archeological site leads and isolated finds in the North Dakota state site data. Within 4,171 miles area there is one site recorded for each 14.1 miles,” states Mrs. Brave Bull Allard, who is also a historian. LaDonna and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe also contend that the project did not receive a full environmental impact study. The Tribe did not consent to Dakota Access Pipeline construction and were never properly consulted.

Contrary to popular belief, the fight to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline is not over. The corporation that runs DAPL is now trying to expand its operation, and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is opposing it. Several Democratic presidential candidates, including Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, are also promising to pull DAPL’s permits if elected.

To LaDonna, the fight is personal. “My family is buried there and I ask, when do you stop being a mom? If your child dies does that mean you are not a mom anymore? I am a mom until I die. My son is buried on top of that hill and now my dear husband.”

Three years later, she has vowed to fight the pipeline until it’s gone. “My victory is coming. I will not back down down until that pipeline is removed. I have a shovel. We are in court but as you know, the court system is not just. For those who don’t know, Sacred Stone still exists here on Standing Rock and we are in every fight across the world now.”