Paid off: Why Hillary will never stand with the Dakota pipeline protesters

For months, protesters have been blocking the construction of an oil pipeline in North Dakota to protect water, land, and religious and spiritual sites deemed sacred to the Native American tribes in the region, namely the Standing Rock Sioux.

The tension between the protesters and state and local law enforcement have reached a boiling point where protesters have been beaten, shot with rubber bullets, pepper-sprayed, and arrested. And from the look of it, the two sides aren’t budging.

What’s worse for the protesters is that they’re not getting much help from the candidate they endorsed for President, Hillary Clinton.

In a statement released last week, Clinton’s campaign director of coalitions, Xochitl Hinojosa, said:

We received a letter today from representatives of the tribes protesting the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. From the beginning of this campaign, Secretary Clinton has been clear that she thinks all voices should be heard and all views considered in federal infrastructure projects. Now, all of the parties involved—including the federal government, the pipeline company and contractors, the state of North Dakota, and the tribes—need to find a path forward that serves the broadest public interest. As that happens, it’s important that on the ground in North Dakota, everyone respects demonstrators’ rights to protest peacefully, and workers’ rights to do their jobs safely.