Members of Pacific Northwest tribes have joined the protests against a major oil pipeline in North Dakota.
Members of Pacific Northwest tribes have joined the protests against a major oil pipeline in North Dakota. SB

The Puyallup canoe family drove 24 hours straight to North Dakota and arrived on Tuesday. They brought a hand-carved canoe made from a single log of cedar and plan to paddle the Missouri River as a show of solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which is leading efforts to stop construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Other representatives from Pacific Northwest tribes are here, too. Members of the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, Coeur d'Alene, and Quinault Indian Nation had planned to join the Puyallup canoe family on the Missouri River this morning, but a rainstorm cut the trip short. (As far as I know, they still plan on paddling tomorrow.)

I spoke to Harvey Anderson, a member of the Quinault Indian Nation, about what made his canoe family travel 1,282 miles from Tacoma to the banks of the Missouri River. "I couldn't think of not doing it," Anderson told me. "What this [demonstration] says, not just for me but for all of those that are coming here to support Standing Rock, is that when something is sacred to any native people, all other tribes understand that and they respect it."

Here's the full interview with Anderson:

(Previously.)