A Native American journalist just came back from Antioch after he covered the pipeline protests in North Dakota.
He is speaking out about his experience.
Bender said, "For Indian people we feel when one tribe is attacked, all tribes are attacked. We have to unite to combat that threat."
He said tribes across the country are sending supplies to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota.
The tribe feels their sacred land and burial sites are being damaged.
They're also concerned that their river water will be contaminated if the pipeline running under it ruptures.
Bender said, "When it breaks water would be undrinkable unusable for the reservation residents. And not just for the reservation residents but for 18,000,000 farmers and ranchers who live south of the reservation."
The Dakota Access Pipeline will connect oil between several states, push millions of dollars into the economy, and create jobs.
Bender said, "The pipeline is put in solely for profit. The oil that goes through the pipeline is to go through South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, then it hooks up with other pipelines that take it directly to the Gulf of Mexico."
Bender said while oil companies are considering profit, chiefs are considering survival.
Bender said, "Were not just fighting for Indian people we're fighting for all people. A lot of the speakers said we are leading the fight to save the planet. And we will bring this to be a turning point in the history of the world away from the use of fossil fuels."
In recent days the protests have escalated.
Bender said, "The water protectors, not using the word protestors, stormed onto the site to stop the bulldozers and they literally had attack dogs turned on them."
A status hearing will be held in Washington D.C. on Friday regarding the pipeline.
Bender said, "Without it being able to cross that land, the pipeline is dead in the water."
