TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- For months, protesters have rallied against plans for a multi-billion dollar pipeline being built on a Native American reservation.
The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) has garnered national attention, sparking movements across the country to support the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.
The situation has inspired locals to organize a peaceful demonstration this weekend.
"This is a matter of safe water, corporate greed, human rights violations, government overreach," said concerned citizen Lorinne Myatt, who has Native American ancestry.
The proposed pipeline would be constructed on land sacred to the Sioux tribe.
"Native Americans right now are standing on the front lines, and they are protecting the water with their lives," said Shay Matthews, who also has Native American roots.
"To see violence being taken against peaceful protesters, and corporate profits being counted greater than clean water -- it concerns us all," Myatt said.
The situation has prompted locals to speak up.
"Many of the issues affecting the Dakota area are similar and are also going to be affecting Florida," said FSU student Ari Rabinovich, who's part of the group "Rethink Energy Florida."
"When [the pipeline] busts -- because it's a fact that it will bust, they all do -- it will affect 18 million people," Matthews said.
Locals aren't just concerned with the DAPL. Closer to home, they're also speaking out against the Sabal Trail pipeline.
"The Sabal Trail pipeline is an example of how our government has failed to fulfill the purposes of serving the public," Rabinovich said.
"[They're] not doing more to protect our individual rights, having our first amendment rights infringed upon," Myatt said.
Despite being hundreds of miles from the protest, the group says it's not just a Native American issue; it's a national issue.
"It takes a lot of energy and persistence to stand up for what's right," Myatt said, "and we want to give that moral support to say that we hear them and we're with them."
"We praise the water. We love the water," Matthews said. "We're going to protect it -- no matter what."
The event is scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m. in front of the Old Capitol building.
