BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - The front lines of the battle against the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline are shifting away from the dwindling encampment in North Dakota.
Main opposing groups asked for activism to be spread around the U.S., a call heeded when a banner was unfurled during an NFL game on New Year's Day and when there was a demonstration at the Rose Parade in California.
Meanwhile, the camp's population is down to a few hundred.
Indigenous Environmental Network organizer Dallas Goldtooth says opposition groups are seeing their request for broader activism materialize.
It's a strategy sociology professors say is advantageous and possibly allows for innovative ways to draw attention to the issue.
Opponents believe the four-state pipeline threatens drinking water and Native American cultural sites, which Texas-based developer Energy Transfer Partners denies.