I would say that it's nearly impossible to get a clear and accurate account from protesters and activists because they have no problem whatsoever just lying and fabricating things so long as they believe their cause is justified.  Kingdom supporters are a great example of this, but more broadly, it occurs with activism in general.  GMOs, telescopes, oil pipelines, these protests aren't even about the DAPL in particular, they are opposed to oil and pipelines in general.

The protesters cannot identify for me what makes DAPL special compared to the 8 other pipelines running through North Dakota.  You would think that there were some kind of special and unique environmental hazards from this particular pipeline that would justify all the interest, but there isn't.  It's just a pipeline, and this isn't the first time a pipeline has crossed a river.  There is nothing special about this pipeline, aside from the fact that environmentalists have used it to push their agenda.