NY teen's pipeline protest plan goes viral

A few weeks ago, Heather Graham, 18, created a Facebook event for a march she planned to organize in protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline, for which President Trump approved construction, to carry oil over more than a thousand miles through four states and a reservation of sacred land belonging to the Standing Rock Sioux.

"I felt like I needed to do something so I organized an event and it blew up," Heather said. "I have family members who are Native American. I have a small bit of Native American in me as well."

Heather invited a selection of people she knew personally to her march and then left for the weekend. When she returned and logged online she discovered thousands of strangers liking, sharing, and RSVP'ing to her event.

"I invited 100 family and friends to go and not expecting 11,000 people to be interested in going," Heather said.

Nearly 2,500 have already RSVP'd "Yes" and another couple of thousand plan to join Heather after their education march.

The first experience with activism or politics for this Nyack, New York, high school senior has also served as an introduction to bureaucracy and permitting -- as Heather received permission from the city to rally in front of the New York Public Library and then march up Fifth Avenue to Trump Tower.

"It was overwhelming at first but I've now that I've got a handle on it and I've got sponsors it's just awesome," Heather said.

The march begins Saturday at noon.

"It's really important to preserve the culture of this country and not deserve the sacred land of the people who were here first," she said.

Heather has prepared a speech to give in front of those thousands of other marchers but plans to give members of the Native American community priority.