A protetster holds a ceremonial staff while protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in front of the state capitol.

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RaheNi Gonz·lez I'naru, who is TaÌno and lives in San Francisco, sits inside a tent where she is staying at the Two Spirit camp at Octei Sakowin, the largest of the Standing Rock encampments near Standing Rock, North Dakota where people who call themselves water protectors are disputing the construction of the North Dakota Access Pipeline, on November 29, 2016. I'naru is descended from TaÌno Indians in Puerto Rico, indigenous people who inhabited islands in the Caribbean Sea at the time when Christopher Columbus arrived. Her ancestors would have been among the first people to have contact with him. She describes the water protectors and the camps as an act of "de-colonizing." "They've tried so hard to erase who we are," she says. Further, the two-spirit camp is a reclaiming of the indigenous understanding of sexuality and gender. "There's more of a sacred relationship with our identity," she says. She views Christianity as the aspect of colonialism that introduced western homophobia into native culture. Photo by Angela Jimenez for Minnesota Public Radio www.angelajimenezphotography.com

Richard Ray, a bee keeper from Quebec, and his son, Richard Ray, Jr., 8, walk to take a bath at the Oceti Sakowin Camp, the largest of the Standing Rock encampments near Standing Rock, North Dakota where people who call themselves water protectors are protesting the construction of the North Dakota Access Pipeline, during heavy snow conditions on November 29, 2016. The camp has been their home for the past four months. They plan to stay. "Wood, propane and prayers" keep them warm, says Ray. "My people are here." His reason for coming here: "My son's gotta drink clean water. Water is life." He remembers squirrel hunting when he was growing up. He could put his lips down to a river in the woods and drink from it. If you did that now, he says, it would make you sick. Twenty-three days ago, his mother (Richard Jr.'s grandmother) Nellie Duffy, 89, a full-blooded Micmac died. They are grieving her. "She is here with us," he says. Photo by Angela Jimenez for Minnesota Public Radio www.angelajimenezphotography.com

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