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Anti-Pipeline Rally Held In Chico

Close to 150 people turned out in Chico Tuesday evening to show solidarity with anti-pipeline protesters in North Dakota.

Members of the crowd said they sought to draw attention to an ongoing struggle pitting Native Tribes against the company building an oil pipeline, and by extension, federal and state authorities that approved it.

Megan Cortright, a member of Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, said she turned out for a single reason.

“Fighting for clean water, not just for the natives, but for everybody, for all living beings,” she said.

Native activists at the Standing Rock Reservation contend that pipeline construction is destroying sacred and burial sites and that once operational, the Dakota Access Pipeline will put drinking water supplies at risk of contamination.

“I mean it’s getting worse but I mean, prayer works,” Cortright said. “And, that’s all we can really do. We’re not violent people.”