Local tribal members add their support to Dakota Access Pipeline protests

SEATTLE -- Local Native-American tribes are displaying their support for protesters trying to block a four-state oil-pipeline.

Tribal members gathered Sunday at Seattle’s Victor Stenbrueck Park in a rally to support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, in its fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Members say the 1,400 mile pipeline poses the threat of leaking oil into the Missouri River.  They also say the project will destroy sacred sites of the Standing Rock Sioux people and damage farmland.

The pipeline would cross the Missouri River less than a mile upstream of the reservation.

The Seattle protest among several across the nation, as Native Americans from reservations hundreds of miles away from North Dakota have joined the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's battle against the $3.8 billion pipeline that will run through four states.

Protesters say the project will impact drinking water for 8,000 tribal members and millions further downstream.

About 30 people have been arrested in protests in recent weeks and the Texas-based company has temporarily stopped construction.

One of the protesters is an 11-year-old Navajo girl who sold about 50 homemade soaps and gave the money to protest organizers.  Her own home has no running water, and her sales pitch was "I don't want water to be poisoned."

A federal judge will rule before Sept. 9 on whether construction can be halted on the pipeline, which will pass through Iowa, Illinois, North Dakota and South Dakota.

He’s considering a request by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe for a temporary injunction.

Tribal officials are challenging the Army Corps of Engineers' decision last month to grant permits for Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners.

The fight against the pipeline has attracted dozens of protesters, including actress Susan Sarandon. She says the pipeline creates a "dangerous situation."