For the Blackfeet, Lakota and other Native American people, water does more than sustain life – it's the place of the divine.
Pope Francis appears to have defended Native American protests on the North Dakota pipeline issue. Indigenous cultures have a right to defend 'their ancestral relationship to the Earth,' he said.
Much social good can come from mass involvement – and research shows that includes online activism. The bigger picture takes in all those people who care but are at risk of doing nothing.
The protesters have scored a big victory in the Dakota Access Pipeline conflict, but it's served only to illuminate the sharp divisions over energy policy in the US.
While online action alone can't solve a problem, it can be a very useful tool to mobilize people and focus attention on a crucial issue.
Indigenous people make up small percentages of the population in many countries – but using social media, Indigenous voices can be heard worldwide. Here are a dozen deadly Australians worth following.