MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Nearly 400 people were protesting in downtown Minneapolis Tuesday.
They're upset that Hennepin County deputies are at the site of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline protests.
Tuesday, a group protested in downtown and dropped off a petition to Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek's office.
"We stand with the Standing Rock Sioux and their fight for sovereignty," said one attendee.
Stanek sent deputies to North Dakota Sunday, at the request of local officials, who are dealing with months of protests and dozens of arrests.
The group in Minneapolis, made up of many tribal members and the Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light, want Stanek to bring his deputies home.
The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office says the deputies sent to the site are trained to respond to state emergencies.
"These Minnesota peace officers will assist in maintaining the public's safety, preserve the peace, and protect the constitutional rights of protesters," in a statement from the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.
"Now to find out that resources from my own county, my own home are being sent to participate in that suppression I think we owe it to native peoples to make the future that I was told they had a reality," said Johan Baumeister, of Minneapolis.
Deputies from Anoka and Washington counties and at least five other states are also assisting law enforcement in North Dakota.
The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office says it will be reimbursed by the state of North Dakota for its services.
Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light said Stanek has agreed to meet with organizers on Thursday morning.