UPDATE 2/7/2017, 4:30 p.m.

The Seattle City Council unanimously voted Tuesday afternoon to cut ties with banking giant Wells Fargo over its role as a lender to the Dakota Access Pipeline project, as well as other business practices.

Cheers erupted from the crowd when the measure passed and members of several Native American tribes stood to thank the council.

Meantime the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved the next phase in the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, paving the way for the project’s completion.

Original Story:

Seattle lawmakers are expected to cut ties with Wells Fargo Tuesday because the bank is a lender for the Dakota Access Pipeline. It's one recent example of how corporations are experiencing, and responding to, boycotts.

Protests in Seattle against the Dakota Access Pipeline project have been large and frequent, often organized by local tribal members.

Protesters, many of them Native people from Washington state, share the concerns of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which says the pipeline would threaten tribal water supplies, land and cultural sites.

Seattle's City Council is also on record against the project.

But Wells Fargo, the bank the city does most of its business with, is among 17 lenders for the pipeline. That doesn't sit well with city leaders, especially after the bank's recent scandal over opening accounts without customer knowledge.

Socialist City Councilmember Kshama Sawant led the charge for Seattle to divest from Wells Fargo.

"Taking on this issue, this is not just about Seattle," Sawant said. "This is about our global fight against climate change and the oil lobby."