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I think Kayla's post is something so crucial to our understanding on the what is happening to the minority groups that Trump is already starting to oppress. Not only does Trump not seem to care about the peaceful protest, which has been going on for several months, but he wants to speed up the pipe line implementation. His disregard for the Indigenous people and non-Indigenous communities that will be greatly affected by this pipeline shows how little Trump understands the severity of the situation. As Trump now holds so much power in his hands, he is clearly only listening to himself and becoming the monster we all know him to be. It saddens me to think about how devoted these protesters have been and how police have been fighting back in violent ways (often with water canons, the very thing the people are trying to protect, their water). They thought they finally had won for their land and their people, but Trump takes this all away by revoking it. Just as Kayla states, "it is money that is being chosen over land," unfortunately this is something we see in politics vs. environmental issues quite often, but it will be Trumps mistake and fault in making this pipeline happen. It is just like we talked about in the Dawes Act or the Allotment Act in class, where once something becomes of value to white Americans or European settlers like in the past, they forget about who they are hurting and become greedy and power hungry. The water and land is for the people who live in the area, it should not be taken from them and turned into a money making pipeline that if busted will be far worse then not putting it in. Sadly, Trump looks at a very narrow picture instead of the big one and probably would do little to help if it does happen to burst in the future.

I am in agreement with my classmates about what they said regarding the pipeline project and the effects it will have on the Native Americans who live in the area that will be effected by this project. I think that the articles discussion of the Dakota Access pipeline is one of many examples of how the government has taken advantage of Native Americans, putting the state of their land at risk. This issue becomes not only a concern for the welfare of the Native American people who live there but also a great concern for the environment of the surrounding area. As we known through his campaigning process Trump does not take environmental concerns very seriously, nor does he think that global warming is a top priority, or even a priority at all. After becoming president Trump appointed Scoot Pruitt to the head of the EPA, a man who continuously denies claims of global warming and who has a general disregard for scientific fact in support of environmental problems. Attitudes such as this are a danger to us all, as they are preventing them from seeing a potential environmental catastrophe.
Obviously Native Americans will be effected by this pipeline project the most as it is their land that the pipe will be on, and as the article states these protests have been going on for months. There are very serious concerns about how a potential leak in the pipeline could mean a contaminated water supply which would become a huge health concern.
I agree with Lindsey's post about how this article reminded her of King's Green Grass Running Water, as I was also reminded of this text in the sense that it in many ways refers to the government's taking of native land, and the various false promises that were made to them. Just as the novel offered much criticism on the historical treatment of the native population by the government, the Dakota Access pipeline is an example of how these problems continue to exist today.