Opposition to construction of a fuel pipeline is an environmental and cultural flash point that has hundreds of protesters camping out in rural North Dakota. They and others object to a 1,170-mile line through four Plains states to bring 470,000 barrels of oil a day to Illinois from drilling fields of western North Dakota. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe, whose reservation is near the Dakota Access project's path, asked a federal court to halt work because a leak or spill near its Missouri River crossing could be disastrous. The river is the tribe's only water source.

A judge in Washington, D.C., last Friday denied the tribe's request, saying the $3.7-billion project won't cause irreparable harm to the Standing Rock Sioux. Still, construction is halted temporarily at the request of three government agencies.

At least 28 demonstrators have been arrested on charges including disorderly conduct and trespass. The tribe say its route cuts through ancestral land where generations of Sioux hunted, fished and were buried. Sioux and members of other tribes began gathering in April outside Cannon Ball, a south-central North Dakota town near South Dakota, camping on federal land. It's the first time since the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn that all seven councils of the Great Sioux Nation have camped together. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein visited last week to show support.

State and federal agencies OK’d the pipeline, which brings thousands of dollars in payments to farmers and ranchers whose land it will cross. The Texas-based builder says the project, which it planned to finish this year, is a major step toward reducing America's need for foreign oil. From the other side, tribal chairman David Archambault writes on The New York Times opinion page: "This fight is not just for the interests of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, but also for those of our neighbors on the Missouri River: The ranchers and farmers and small towns who depend on the river have shown overwhelming support for our protest."

Tribal leader says: "These grounds are the resting places of our ancestors. . . . Our sacred land has been turned into hollow ground." -- David Archambault, Standing Rock Sioux chairman

Protester says: "This is our homeland. We are Dakota. Dakota means friend or ally. Dakota Access has taken our name." -- Phyllis Young, Standing Rock Sioux member

Lawyer says: "This pipeline is going through huge swaths of ancestral land. It would be like constructing a pipeline through Arlington Cemetery or under St. Patrick’s Cathedral." -- Dean DePountis, Bismarck, N.D., attorney for the tribe