The chants repeated “Water is life!”

Within the inner circle of the roundabout connecting Routes 5 and 20, 5 and Route 483, walked natives of Seneca Nation and outsiders of the territory all protesting one thing — pipelines.

Last Tuesday, President Donald Trump quickly signed executive orders that would reignite the hotly contested construction of the Dakota Access pipeline and the Keystone XL pipeline. These pipelines have sparked protests that have garnered much national media attention over the course of 2016. The construction stalled last year, due to protests, and concerns seemed to die down when former President Obama discontinued the pipeline’s progress.

Friday night, locals of Seneca Nation and other local residents gathered where all three roads intersect.

OBSERVER Photo by Jordan Patterson Darelyn Spruce initiates the march Friday night in Irving.

“We might just have us but that’s all we need,” the protest organizer Darelyn Spruce said to the people gathered just outside a gas station in Irving.

For Spruce and the others gathered there, the fear is that the pipelines will be constructed and, in the event of a leak, the oil being extracted could possibly contaminate the water supply in those areas. On top of that, there is fear the same thing could happen in Western New York.

Along with the fears of potentially dangerous pipelines, a growing concern among the protestors is with the government itself and whether or not they can be trusted.

“I feel that there’s such a lack of understanding and discord of what’s going on politically and I feel like there’s a lot of manipulation that’s going to come down the pipe from this government body that we presently have,” said Thomas Golya.

Golya feels that if the people don’t stand up and question the government, they are going to use their power to do the opposite of what people want.

“I’m very distraught at that,” Golya said about President Trump’s orders. “I don’t think there has been a true reanalysis of what the situation is.”

Judi Lutz-Woods of Fredonia, who also at the protest, was also affected by Trump’s decision.

“(I’m) very upset that he’s not listening to the people … he’s listening to big money,” Lutz-Woods said.

Lutz-Woods was there to support the protection of Native American land. She feared the effects of a pipeline accident and pointed to Iowa’s most recent spill.

On Wednesday, 3,300 drums of diesel, which equals 138,600 gallons, leaked out of an oil pipeline in Iowa.

Victoria Busch, a member of Seneca Strong, which is a group that brings awareness to drug abuse but also strongly supports the environment, was in attendance. She said she was there to represent her people and the right to healthy water.

Busch’s biggest concern with Trump’s executive order is that it would be breaking treaties with Native Americans.

“It’s so unbelievable he thinks it’d be OK to do that,” Busch said. “We can try to fight it as much as possible, writing petitions even, to all the congressmen we can.”

Whether or not President Trump’s executive orders will go through is hard to say, but the people of Seneca Nation wait anxiously for the answer.

“I hope not, I definitely hope not,” Busch said.

The protest started at 5 p.m. and the day quickly became night but the protestors remained and the drum kept beating.

Another protest is planned for Sunday at 1 p.m. at Niagara Square in downtown Buffalo.