Oklahoma Tribes Continue Support For Standing Rock Sioux

Thursday, police arrested protesters in North Dakota who are trying to stop the construction of a cross-country oil pipeline.

The standoff between those who support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the pipeline developer continues despite the federal government request to halt construction near a water source.

Oklahoma tribes continue their support for the Standing Rock Sioux, including members of the Cherokee Nation.

The Standing Rock Sioux tribe say while their protests have been peaceful, law enforcement officers came at them dressed for war Thursday, forcibly removing them.

10/27/2016 Related Story: Authorities Move In To Remove Standing Rock Protestors

Several members of the Cherokee Nation just returned from the epicenter of the protests and are already preparing to return.

A month after the federal government asked for part of the Dakota Access Pipeline project to stop, Oklahoma tribes are continuing to support protests in North Dakota.

Law enforcement spent much of Thursday arresting protesters they say are camping on land owned by the pipeline company.

The events are still unfolding and people are still gathering to protect the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's natural resources and sacred sites.

The Cherokee Nation just returned from another trip there.

Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. said, "When we see it happening elsewhere in the country in the year 2016, we know there's got to be a better way than what's going on right now."

Hoskin Jr. and Tribal Council Speaker Joe Byrd joined a delegation of Cherokee's who brought firewood and a $10,000 cash donation.

10/24/2016 Related Story: Cherokee Nation Donates $10K To Standing Rock Sioux

Byrd said, “It breaks my heart to see what they are doing is the right thing to do. If they were going through our cemetery here in the city people would be outraged, we would be doing the same."

Byrd said the situation in Standing Rock can be a teachable moment for tribal governments to work hand-in-hand with state and federal agencies.

"You have to work together. And the more we do of that, the more we're going to understand what our issues are," he said.

Hoskin said Cherokees have a stake in this too.

"We were removed from the southeast part of the United States, really in an effort to take natural resources and other resources that belong to us, so we really have a kinship with the Standing Rock Sioux," he said.

Hoskin said the federal government is working with tribal governments to ensure situations like the one in North Dakota can be avoided.