Native Americans Protest Dakota Pipeline In Downtown L.A.

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA)  — Native Americans prayed in protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline Wednesday night.

"Oil is leaking and it's killing the planet, the planet is alive and we all need it to live." Protester Rooted Sky said.

This protest outside the Army Corps of Engineers office in L.A. was one of dozens across the country. At one point hundreds were blocking traffic along Wilshire Boulevard. People upset that the Army gave the green light to finish the Dakota Access Pipeline.

It will go from North Dakota to Iowa. It had been stalled for months because of well publicized protests in North Dakota.

When President Trump took office he signed an executive order allowing the project to move forward, promising it would create thousands of jobs.

The pipeline developer says it will be the safest way to transport crude oil across the country. But Gray Wolf from the American Indian movement says the pipeline will leak and contaminate drinking water.

"There are pipe leaks all the time, and it's not a safe way to transport oil," Wolf said.

Although California is miles away from the pipeline, protesters argue we all should care.

"It can happen to your stream, your river, your waterway at any moment," Anna Christensen said.

The protest was peaceful, no arrests were made.