Chicago Activists Stand For Standing Rock

Protesters demonstrate in solidarity with members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in North Dakota over the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Philadelphia, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Protesters demonstrate in solidarity with members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in North Dakota over the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Philadelphia, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Protesters demonstrate in solidarity with members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in North Dakota over the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Philadelphia, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Protesters demonstrate in solidarity with members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in North Dakota over the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Philadelphia, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Chicago Activists Stand For Standing Rock

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Chicago activists are excited and relieved that the Dakota Access pipeline will be diverted around the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota.

After months of protest, the U.S. Army of Corps of Engineers announced Sunday they denied permission for the pipeline to cross under a reservoir of the Missouri River, located near the reservation. The Corps said they will look for an alternate route.

Activists from Chicago and around the nation joined members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe this weekend. Chicago rapper Malcolm London was delivering supplies to fellow activists. He left the campsite just hours before the announcement.

“It was surprising really, because all the - even from the folks on the ground, from the media, that we were in for what seemed to be like a really, really critical and unfortunate moment in history,” he said.

London says the news was quote “a big feeling of relief.”

Lakeidra Chavis is a producer for WBEZ.