The controversial Dakota Access Pipeline Project has recently gained national attention. The half-completed project proposes a new 1,172-mile pipeline that will span from North Dakota to Patoka, Illinois, connecting domestic production areas with refining markets. Each day, approximately 470,000 barrels of crude oil would be moved through the pipeline. 

Each opinion regarding this project stems from whether the individual has a mindset that is focused on the economic or the environmental effects. The Dakota Pipeline company emphasizes the economic growth that will result from this construction, including more jobs, tax revenue, and payouts to landowners. However, the Standing Rock Sioux tribe is more concerned with the environmental and health effects that could result from the pipeline. Already, bulldozers have plowed through two miles of a sacred tribal burial ground, and if the pipeline goes into use, it could threaten the tribe's source of clean drinking water. The Dakota Access Pipeline cannot guarantee that there will be no leaks or spillage. If one does occur as the pipeline crosses through the Missouri River, it would devastate the reservation by ruining the quality of water and the surrounding natural environment. 

The company has argued against the environmental concerns, claiming that this pipeline will enable a more direct, safer method for transporting oil. Also, it would reduce the use of rail and truck transportation, which benefits the environment by drastically reducing the amount of gas and carbon dioxide emission associated with the transportation of crude oil. 

This project really emphasizes the fight  between economic interests and the interests of local people and the environment. Most would agree that the opinions of the communities directly impacted should be taken into consideration when planning a project this expansive and impactful. However, of the 154 meetings that took place between the Dakota Pipeline company and community organizations, none of them included representative of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. The threat this pipeline poses on the tribe's sacred land and source of drinking water should not be taken lightly, yet it is has been overlooked by all of the large bodies involved. 

This lack of inclusion on the decision-making of the project has not stopped Standing Rock from speaking out. Within the last few months, over one hundred tribes have travelled to the reservation in North Dakota to protest and prevent further construction. Their actions have been truly inspiring and show the importance of speaking out for what you believe to be right. When so many people stand up for their cause the government has no choice but to stop avoiding the problem and listen to the cries of its people.