Efforts to stop protesters opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline have backfired spectacularly. Just last week, police in riot gear forcefully removed protesters from the area while the demonstrators were in a prayer circle. Crowdsourcing commenced on a GoFundMe page seeking $5,000 to help those camping in protest of the $3.8 billion pipeline.Instead, more than $1 million poured in on one GoFundMe page alone. Combined, $3 million has been raised for to help with legal costs, food and other supplies for protesters of the 1,200-mile pipeline. As of now, $1,302,643 has been raised and that figure keeps increasing each time the page is refreshed.CBS reports:It may also give protesters the ability to prolong their months-long encampments that have attracted thousands of supporters, as the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe pursues the fight in court.More than $200,000 was raised between Thursday and Friday alone. It still feels unreal sometimes because it is such an astronomical figure to me,  Ho Waste Wakiya Wicasa, the protester who set up the GoFundMe account said. The money goes as quickly as it comes, but without it having been as much as it is, we certainly wouldn t have been able to be as productive as we have been in the fight,  he added.So far, more than 400 people have been arrested and that number includes the roughly 140 protesters who were taken into custody on Thursday when officers used tear gas and fired bean bags to get the demonstrators off the private land recently acquired by Energy Transfer Partners. However, the tribe says that authorities are infringing on tribal sovereignty and failing to respect two treaties ratified by the federal government.Standing Rock Sioux Chairman David Archambault called for peace in a statement during  the standoff.  Remain peaceful and prayerful and don t react to law enforcement aggression,  he said.This week, the tribe asked the Department of Justice to open an investigation over local and state authorities violating civil rights. One hundred years from now   they re going to hear those songs. They re going to hear that memory of what happened here at this camp,  said Faith Spotted Eagle. The 68-year-old Native American says they are not protesters. They are  water protectors. The land is sacred and the water is, too.You can contribute to this important cause here.Photo by Alex Wong via Getty.