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Native American Student In North Texas Says Protesting Dakota Access Pipeline Honors Her Ancestors

Local Audio Posts 24

A Dallas company is behind a controversial oil pipeline in North Dakota. Energy Transfer Partners says the Dakota Access Pipeline will pump millions of dollars into local economies and generate jobs. Pipeline protesters, who call themselves “water protectors,” have gathered in recent months at the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota. They say the pipeline threatens the Missouri River, a water source for 18 million people, including the Standing Rock Sioux. Last week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ordered the protesters to evacuate the Oceti Sakowin Camp, the primary protest site at Standing Rock, by Dec. 5. Stephanie Vielle, 34, is a student at the University of Texas at Arlington, and the former president of the school’s Native American Student Association, the longest running Native college group in Texas. She spent time at Standing Rock in October. She’s a member of Blackfeet Nation in Browning, Montana, and she says she went to North Dakota to support her people and to