When I read or watch videos about the protestors of Standing Rock being maced, arrested, tased, and unjustly treated by the government, military, and police forces - my heart cries for the people. To me, I truly hoped that this type of inhuman treatment, unjustified violence, and freedom restriction were all part of my parent's generation and not mine. I had hoped that with time, people would begin to understand that humanity is contingent on mother nature.

Putting in a pipeline through Little Rock's sacred grounds and tribal community is a destruction to Sioux's land, heritage, and community. As much as this issue is a major human rights violation against Sioux's sacred land, it's a human violation against all of our land. The pipeline that is being built on the river and on preserved land should be an insult to us all. To me, the sheer idea that the government, oil companies, and the wealthy rich can ruin everyone's land and water supplies is an insult. It's outrageous that companies, industries, and government officials have no regard for the quality of life being ruined by their pipeline.

This isn't merely a fight over sacred land, although to many it is; this is a fight over the quality of life. The Sioux's native land has been taken, destroyed, and returned a multitude of times. Each and every time their quality of life is ruined a little bit more. It saddens me to know that it took such a catastrophic event as the pipeline to make people realize that they are part of this issue, Sioux or not. The issues of dehumanization, land destruction, and the reduction of the quality of life are human issues, not Native American issues. The fight for clean water, undisturbed land, and basic human rights is a fight that everyone should be on board with - not just the protestors of Standing Rock.