AKWESASNE -- Activists in Akwesasne joined more than 200 actions nationally Tuesday, supporting the Standing Rock Sioux Nation's fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).

The march took place on state Route 37 from the old fire station in Hogansburg to the Tribal Community Center building.

Organized quickly by North Country 350 Alliance, a local chapter of 350.org, and Veterans For Peace, the event drew approximately 20 people, most of whom came on the spur of the moment as they had just heard of the event.

“All came to support the thousands of protesters who have gathered in a protest camp near the confluence of the Missouri and Cannonball Rivers in North Dakota to protect sacred sites and a river that supplies water to millions of people,” 350.org officials said in a news release.

The proposed 1,172-mile pipeline would transport nearly a half a million barrels of crude oil daily from the North Dakota Bakken region through South Dakota and Iowa into Illinois.

“While Sioux Nation members fear for cultural sites, including burial grounds, and their water supply in the event of a spill, environmentalists claim building pipelines perpetuates the use of fossil fuels for decades at a time when climate change from the use of fossil fuels is warming the planet at an ever accelerating pace,” the release says. “The pipeline is 60 percent finished with most, but not with all permits secured. Last week, President Barack Obama blocked the final federal permit needed to build the pipeline, and the administration opened the door to using a more thorough review process that takes climate and tribal consultation into account. While company officials are concerned about lost revenue, tribal officials point out the company began construction prior to securing all needed permits, and such decisions bring consequences.

“A recent study by the International Energy Agency states U.S. pipelines spilled three times as much crude oil as trains between 2004-2012 even though pipeline incidents happen less frequently than train incidents. Protesters are fearful of the long-term consequences of spills from the pipeline.”