re: Can someone give me the cliff note version of the Dakota pipeline?

Army Corps of engineers did a survey and found that a pipeline would be far more ecologically sound as a transport mode - as has been proven over and over. Trucking is even more harmful, not to mention dangerous at this time of year.

Warren Buffet once again saw a threat to his railway transport businesses, so he whipped up another anti-pipeline protest. Most of the idiots you see on TV really are environmentalists, but the core consists of those paid by Buffet's interests. This is the case with almost every one of these situations.

The protestors are squatting on private land that the owner wants them off of, so kicking them out is well within the right of the authorities.

Whether the pipeline is on "sacred land" is very hard to determine, as anyone can say that something is sacred land without a clearly defined parameter. As stated, sacred or not, this particular tract is private property, so it's moot.

So:

A more ecologically sound mode of transport + Warren Buffet + stupid people + crunchy nativist drum circle philosophies = this huge pile of bullshite.

ETA: Here's a very good breakdown.