In early December, in an unprecedented show of solidarity, more than 2,000 U.S. military veterans converged in Standing Rock to form a human shield around Dakota Access pipeline Water Protectors. A contingent met with tribal elders in a forgiveness ceremony, apologizing for past and current crimes committed against indigenous people by th U.S. government. The veterans say there are millions of them who feel the same way. Many veterans have pledgedto go everywhere where something wrong is happening, where people struggle for survival while the government does nothing or is part of the problem.