First of all, major thanks to my awesome sister Sophie for fact-checking my article! She's the political expert in the family, so I'm confident in her ability to set my story straight.

I probably don't need to give much of an introduction to this topic, as news about Standing Rock is known nationwide. The Dakota Access Pipeline was originally going to be built in Bismarck, but was changed due to concerns amongst the residents. The pipeline was rerouted to be built on land that is sacred to and owned by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. The tribe fought the making of the pipeline, even refusing to accept the over one billion dollars that had accumulated in the compensation trust fund set aside by the government. Others joined them, 'water protectors,' fellow tribes and environmentalists who agreed that the Sioux tribe rightfully owned the land and shouldn't have that right infringed, who were concerned about the impact the pipeline would have on the environment. Even celebrities began to get involved. A few months ago, the protests began to get particularly ugly: there were hundreds of arrests, and local police forces used violent means to subdue the peaceful protests; there is absolutely no indication that the reaction they took was warranted. They used water cannons, firing them directly at protestors even in freezing weather, fired tear-gas canisters and rubber bullets, and sent out attack dogs. People were injured; one protestor, Sophia Wilanksy, came close to losing her arm after being hit with a concussion grenade and still might (here is the GoFundMe page to support the payment for her treatment: https://www.gofundme.com/30aezxs?rcid=da6d662ea87d...). Weeks earlier, there had also been plans to send in U.S. military veterans to support the protestors, and they arrived just a few days ago. Around 4,000 (twice as many as were planned to come over) U.S. veterans joined the protestors at Standing Rock, and then on December 4th, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said that they would not approve the permit needed to build the pipeline and declared their intent to look for alternative routes. The Army Corps of Engineers, as well as president Obama, called for an environmental impact statement for the pipeline, which is a document that must be filled out in regards to any action taken (like building a pipeline) that might affect the local environment in any way, looking into its affects and alternatives.

Obviously, this is a huge victory. It's a victory for the protestors, who put their bodies on the line in order to protect their land and prevent yet another injustice dealt towards Native Americans, to look out for the environment (the pipeline would have tainted water in the Missouri River and Lake Oahe), to uphold the law. In particular, it's a victory for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, who decided to stand up for their rightful land, declared as such by the U.S. government in the Fort Laramie treaty of 1868, and in the end made a difference. It was a hard-fought battle, but progress has been made. For the time being, the pipeline has been halted and some of the contracts made with Energy Transfer Partners (the company in charge of the Dakota Access Pipeline project) pertaining to the pipeline will end on January 1st, 2017. But while this is all incredible news, the fight isn't over yet, and people are still worried. In January, the Trump administration will take over in the White House, and people are understandably concerned that he will move to start up construction again, considering his stance on environmental issues. In addition, he also holds shares in Energy Transfer Partners. The company itself also shows no signs of giving up, and they seem determined to see their project through.

However, a ray of hope that I'm keeping in mind is that with every day that there is no construction on the pipeline, investors in the pipeline are losing valuable money, and everyone knows how loudly money speaks, especially in the business and political climates. Since investors with money placed into the project are taking heavy losses where it really counts, when the contracts are up on the first it's entirely possible that they could cut their losses and pull out, leaving Energy Transfer Partners unable to cover the costs and build the pipeline. Now, I may be overly hopeful here, especially since I'm not exactly the most politically-savvy person and might not fully understand the issue. But finding out about this information (through watching The Young Turks on Youtube, mainly) gave me a sense of hope even greater than that I felt upon hearing that pipeline construction was being halted. The Sioux tribe, the water protectors, the veterans who came down to North Dakota, and the news outlets that covered the story have done a lot to take this fight as far as it's gotten, and I'm hoping money can finish the job. In this day and age, it can talk just as loudly as any group of people.

Here's a link to The Young Turks channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuMo0RRtnNDuMB8DV...