All they wanted was to protect their drinking water from an oil pipeline.

They had to face raging dogs and pepper spray to do so.

That was the story powerfully conveyed at the 2017 Being Fearless Conference by two young members of the Water Protectors, a grassroots collection of protesters from indigenous tribes and other groups fighting to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline near the Standing Rock Reservation in South Dakota and North Dakota.

In this video, Andreanne Catt and Lauren Howland of the International Indigenous Youth Council offer moving lessons on how to confront fear and engage in effective activism.