Indigenous people have always had a fiercely intimate relationship with the Earth. Their spirituality was rooted deeply in the idea that they needed to live their life in a way that honored the Earth.  They dedicated rituals to pay homage to the Earth as they took what plants and animals they needed in order to survive. 

Eventually, European settlers came over to their land and disrupted this relationship for their own personal wellbeing. They achieved that through exploitation and violence. 

Said exploitative and violent tendencies did not end. The conflict surrounding the Standing Rock Sioux and the Dakota Access Pipeline bares that out.