Imagine having to fight for clean water.

Most of us don’t have to worry about that, but some Native Americans have been forced to.

The DAPL, or Dakota Access Pipeline, has been looked at by many as a threat to sacred Native American land and the people living there. Native American tribes and police have been clashing for months. There is a way to help though, even if it is small compared to what is happening.

If completed, the underground pipeline is planned to stretch from Stanley, North Dakota all the way to Patoka, Illinois. The purpose of the 1,172 mile-long pipeline is to transport crude oil to refineries. But, there has been a hold up near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota.

Specifically, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and supporters have been protesting the pipeline since Spring of this year. Their reasons seem completely logical. Considering the DAPL would run under the Missouri River, they don’t want to live in fear of contaminated water. They also want to protect sacred land that might be destroyed by this pipeline, and some land already has been.

Protests are still going on, the people are still fighting for what’s right. Although, many times, it has become violent. But not by the “water protectors”, as they call themselves, but by police.

On Sunday night, while trying to get past barriers on the Backwater Bridge on Highway 1806 which were blocking off construction sites, protesters were pushed back by police with rubber bullets, concussion grenades, tear gas and powerful water hoses. Even though the temperature was below freezing, water cannons were still used.

Unfortunately, at least 17 protesters were taken to the hospital due to their injuries.

This is not the first incident of violence against Native Americans concerning this pipeline and the protests that have come with it. And the construction of the DAPL is certainly not the first time violence has been used against Native Americans in the United States.

The pipeline is close to being finished, but there is still a few ways to help out the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.

By visiting http://sacredstonecamp.org, you can donate any amount you would like to the cause.

The easiest thing to do right now is to spread the word about what is happening all over social media, in hopes that the situation of the Standing Rock Sioux will get more attention and ultimately, support.