A handful of local people joined the thousands who trekked to the Standing Rock area as the evacuation deadline loomed in the standoff over a controversial oil pipeline.

Last month the Army Corps of Engineers ordered the Standing Rock Sioux, other indigenous peoples and their supporters to leave protest encampments by Dec. 5, later revising that order to state that no one would be removed by force.

On Dec. 4, the Corps of Engineers called for an Environmental Impact Study and announced it would deny an easement to allow the pipeline under Lake Oahe on the Missouri River, the main water source for the Standing Rock Reservation, which is home to about 8,000 people in North and South Dakota.

Sewanee’s Lynn Cimino-Hurt and Michael Lee, along with Eric Lewis, an activist and friend from Nashville, were in in the main camp, Oceti Sakowin, when tribal leaders made the announcement. Cimino-Hurt and Lee said they were in tears amongst the jubilation of at least a temporary victory.

“It was a pretty remarkable moment,” Cimino-Hurt said. “It felt like when you are playing tug-of-war and then they let go.”

As a bundle of sage burned during the interview in the back of Mooney’s Market and Emporium in Monteagle, Lee said the stand at Standing Rock serves as an example.

“The first biggest point is the condition we find our country in and the world, and the Native American community is showing us how to have non-violent prayer to promote justice and freedom,” he said.

Since the spring, protestors, who prefer the term “water protectors,” have stood against the Dakota Access Pipeline, camping near the planned site where the pipeline would cross under Lake Oahe. Opponents say the pipeline will threaten the reservation’s drinking water, sacred land and agriculture income. The pipeline company, Energy Transfer Solutions, says the pipeline is safe and vital to energy needs. Energy Transfer has vowed to continue the mostly-complete 1,171-mile pipeline from the Bakken oil fields in northwestern North Dakota to an oil storage and transfer site in Patoka, Ill., without rerouting around Lake Oahe.

The trio stayed with Frank and Rochelle Bullhead on the Standing Rock Reservation. Lee has visited the reservation before and worked with Native Americans through Plenty, a relief organization of The Farm in Summertown, Tenn. On the latest trip, the trio hauled supplies to water protectors in a rented four-wheel drive Ford truck. Jason Barry of the Sewanee area donated two field-dressed deer, trout, chicken and turkeys, and other people donated groceries, money, a stove, herbal medicine and other goods.

Also joining the influx of supporters to the area were a number of military veterans. Eric Eichler and Geoff Badgley, who both live in the Sewanee area, were in Eagle Butte, S.D., helping the veterans by organizing meals, sleeping arrangements and other logistics. They arrived in Eagle Butte on Nov. 30 and left Dec. 8, braving winter storms as they stayed with the family of Remi Baldeagle. Eagle Butte is on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation, which abuts the Standing Rock Reservation.

“What compelled me to participate in the Standing Rock protest the most were the reports of police and security brutality,” Eichler said. It seems clear that law-enforcement were acting out of a desire to hurt rather than protect people.”

He was preparing a storage room for an emergency triage in case the situation turned violent when he heard the news of the Corps’ decision.

“We were all incredibly shocked and relieved; it didn’t feel real and there were many who thought the news might be a trick,” Eichler said. “Many people were crying; strangers were hugging each other. But, despite the joy, there was little time for us to celebrate as there was still so much to do to try and keep things running as smoothly as possible. The difficulties of hosting thousands of people in inhospitable weather still stood.”

Eichler said the local people were happy to have the support of others in this country.

“Before this they felt alone and isolated, like an unwanted stepchild,” Eichler said. “The events at Standing Rock have begun to change the way they view themselves in relation to the rest of the nation.

“While there, we also saw the extreme poverty of the indigenous community and came to understand that the primary tribal income was based on leasing land for agriculture, a revenue stream that would be destroyed if the Missouri River became contaminated,” he added.

Eichler said he is proud he and Badgley were able to contribute.

“It was wonderful to see the resilience and hope of the local people and be so welcomed by them,” he said. “It was also very humbling to be a witness to history.”

Cimino-Hurt called the visit to Standing Rock a touchstone moment in her life.

“Another takeaway for me was to look for ways to live a large, generous life in simpler ways. How can I be more thoughtful about the resources I consume and how my lifestyle will affect others as well as my children and grandchildren,” she said.

She noted that the Standing Rock Reservation plans to upgrade its energy infrastructure with a renewable energy grid.

“Council leaders are emphasizing the need to embrace the cultural values that supported a self-sustaining lifestyle long before they lived on reservations: respect, compassion, honesty, patience, generosity, wisdom and humility,” she said. “They have shown us how it is possible to wage a solid resistance without weapons and violence. What else can they teach us about living on the land?”

Another Standing Rock supply run is set for Dec. 26 to help camp leaders through the winter. To contribute, make checks out to Plenty (a 501(c)(3)relief organization) and drop them by Mooney’s or mail to 600 Haynes Road, Sewanee, TN 37375. Contributions can also be made through Plenty for Standing Rock at GoFundMe.