NORTH DAKOTA ( KXNET ) — The United States is continuing its case against North Dakota in the trial to determine who will pay for damages related to the DAPL protest.

On day 16, the court heard primarily from people voicing the perspective of the tribes involved.

The United States first called upon Winona LaDuke — a rural development economist from the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota who was involved with Honor the Earth (an organization focused on protecting the environment and indigenous rights).

LaDuke was alarmed by the lack of tribal participation and consultation in the pipeline process and came to voice her disapproval in August of 2016, camping on land controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers.

LaDuke testified she did not think the Corps had any authority over the land she was camping on, and that their special use permit did not make any difference to the people who came to protect the water.

In the cross-examination, LaDuke stated that she was only speaking on behalf of herself — so she could not say whether or not all people involved were there to protect the water.

The state asked her if she knew that the garbage in the camp would pollute the water systems, and she responded that she was much more worried about the pollution caused by the lack of oil regulations than she was about garbage in the river.

LaDuke also expressed disdain for both federal and state governments in the cross-examination.

She said she expected more action on the part of former President Obama, and she was disappointed by the North Dakota Department of Health’s decision to remove their services from the camps.

The court then heard from Emily Greenwald, a historian from Montana who explained the history of the Sioux people and the continual infringement of their rights.

She said that DAPL protesters felt that what was happening to their land was like other violent events in Sioux history, and said that this could have been a motivator for them.

Greenwald concluded her cross-examination by saying that she did not look into the events that occurred at the protest — rather, she was just providing a larger context for the response.

The trial is expected to wrap up on Thursday, March 14.

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