The Dakota Access Pipeline is a 1,172 mile pipeline that, once completed, will transport oil from the Bakken oil field in North Dakota to Illinois, crossing 4 states. The pipeline company, Energy Transfer Partners, spent over two years obtaining the required approvals and permits for its construction. This summer, after the pipeline was about half complete, the Standing Rock Sioux protested the pipeline, bringing the issue to court because the tribe claimed there could be possible contamination of drinking water and disruption to culturally important sites that are not on the reservation.
