People in the U.S. state North Dakota are angry because an oil company is building a giant pipe their land. The oil company wants to build the multibillion-dollar oil pipeline a lake the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. The Sioux people are Native Americans who have been the land thousands of years. The Native Americans have been joined many protestors. They are all trying to stop the $3.8 billion pipeline passing Sioux land. They say it will dirty their drinking water and make it undrinkable. They also say the pipeline will damage sacred Sioux sites. A Texas-based company, Energy Transfer Partners, owns the 1,885-km pipeline project. It is almost complete.
The protestors are calling themselves "water protectors". They have been the site months trying to block the pipeline. They were recently joined veterans the U.S. military. These are retired soldiers, sailors and members the air force. The veterans have built the protestors shelters to keep warm the freezing winter. There has been violence the protestors and police. A North Dakota spokesman said some the protestors were "frightening". He said: "It's time them to go home." However, Coast Guard veteran Ashleigh Jennifer Parker said: "We will be unarmed, completely prepared peaceful protest. We don't even like the word 'protest'. We're there to help the water protectors."
