Among the several controversial executive orders administered by President Trump during his first days in office, none is more blatantly against his "for the American people" premise than his reauthorization and rapid completion of the Dakota Access and the Keystone XL pipelines. Why is this a problem, you ask? These pipelines would run within one half-mile of the Standing Rock Reservation, breaking the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 and compromising the Native Americans water supply.

The Standing Rock Indian Reservation, located in North Dakota, is the sixth largest Native American reservation in the United States. The reservation is home to ethnic Hunkpapa Lakota, Sihasapa Lakota and Yanktonai Dakota. Not only would this pipeline compromise the water supply for all of the people living on the Standing Rock reservation, but this disregard for native American life only furthers the tensions between the American Government and the Native American people.

On Friday, January 27, the city of Lexington, Kentucky, united and stood with standing rock. Beginning at 6 PM, peaceful protestors stood in front of the Fayette County District Courthouse and pledged their solidarity with Standing Rock. Speakers at this event included both political activists and Native Americans of different tribes that were allies of the tribes occupying Standing Rock.

On Friday evening, I ventured out to attend the protest, with low expectations of a turn out due to my preconceived notions that Lexington is a town full of Trump loving frat boys and closed minded individuals. When I arrived, I was pleasantly surprised. There were a few hundred people who braved the cold and came out to support a worthy cause. The speakers at the event were moving and powerful, and we chanted as a crowd "water is life." I had never been to such an empowering event in my life, it truly is amazing the connectedness you can feel with people when you stand together for a cause you are all passionate about. It suddenly hit me, why would anyone ever try to compromise something that is so sacred to people, for profit?

Feeling empowered by both the speakers who spoke, the Native American man who played the flute, and my fellow protestors eager to make a change, I took photos. Here are a few of the most powerful:

"The Climate is changing, why aren't we? There is no planet B."

And my personal favorite:

Seeing this protest and so many passionate people in one place gave me hope, hope that although our leader is an insensitive, heartless, awful, Cheeto, we, the people of the United States, have the power to make a change.

For more information on how you can get involved in this particular issue, visit http://standwithstandingrock.net/category/news/.

And for all of the other horrible things Trump is trying to do, call your state representative. We truly do have the power to make a change. Let's do it.