On Nov. 15, I was one of more than a hundred people who gathered in Waterville to hold a vigil in solidarity with the water protectors at Standing Rock, North Dakota. This vigil was one of many demonstrations across the U.S. during a day of action against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).

I joined the vigil because I have been following the news about Standing Rock since the summer and I am outraged by the militarized police responses to peaceful protests. I am also angry that I live in a country that continues to allow the abuse of Native American rights. The DAPL was originally supposed to cross the Missouri River near Bismarck, North Dakota; however, residents feared that a leak in the pipeline would threaten their water source, so it was rerouted to cross the river near the Great Sioux Reservation.

The construction of the DAPL is sending the message that Native American lives are still not valued in the United States. Right now, we have a choice as country: we can begin to reverse our history of wrongdoing in our relationships with Native American people, or we can continue to perpetuate the same injustices.

Although the opposition to the DAPL is significant to the larger fight against climate change and for environmental justice, we must recognize that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is opposed to the pipeline primarily to protect their water and their rights. For these reasons, I stood in solidarity last Tuesday and I am demanding at President Barack Obama stop the pipeline and protect Native American rights.

Hannah Peters

Waterville