Ironically, the Dakota Access Pipeline stretches across a state where people are acting on climate by adapting to it. North Dakota is warming faster than anywhere else in the contiguous United States, and hasn't had an above-average number of cold days in winter since 1980. Farmers have adapted by planting corn instead of wheat, though belief is widespread that this is just a natural cycle rather than an anthropogenic shift. 

The Dakota Access Pipeline has been blocked for a total review from the White House. A leak or spill could contaminate the Missouri River, the only source of water for tribes living in North Dakota; even if that violates their rights, it's been known since the selection of the pipeline route. But Obama stepped in after tribal lawyers brought forward dramatic accusations that officials had destroyed cultural artifacts while casing the pipeline route.

Amidst the Hollywood-heavy PR against the pipeline, mainstream media depict Sioux resistance as quaint and novel, but "the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline is part of a centuries-long indigenous struggle against dispossession and capitalist expansionism."

A six-month investigation found that the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is supposed to protect Native interests during negotatiations for use of tribal land, made concessions worth $5 billion to corporations for pittances to families living on the affected land.