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Arizona Navajo woman recovering after injury at Standing Rock

32-year-old Vanessa Dundon's right eye is still swollen shut a week after she claims a tear gas cannister was intentionally shot at her face while she was protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline. 

CANNON BALL, N.D. - A woman from the Navajo Nation is one of nine people who have filed a class action lawsuit against Morton County in North Dakota for claims of excessive force used during a violent confrontation on Nov. 20 and 21.

"I just remember saying, 'My eye, they got my eye,'" said 32-year-old Vanessa Dundon of White Cone, Arizona. "That's when the EMT found me and they put me in the van and then that's when that picture was taken."

A photograph showing Dundon's bloody and bruised face circulated online in the hours after a clash where footage showed law enforcement officials using a fire hose to spray down people in below freezing temperatures and objects being shot toward protestors, who call themselves water protectors.

The Morton County Sheriff's Office called the incident a riot and claimed the water was being used to put out several fires that had been set by protestors. A spokesperson also stated an officer was hit in the head with a rock.

RELATED: Woman may lose arm after clash with law enforcement at Standing Rock

The protectors have maintained they were peaceful that night, unarmed and set a few fires a distance away from the melee that were being used to keep people warm.

"After I got hit, I turned around to run and that's when I got shot with a rubber bullet," Dundon said.

A GoFundMe page set up by a family member has gathered more than $75,000 for Dundon's medical bills as of Monday night.

The woman says her eye is still swollen after she claims a tear gas cannister was intentionally shot at her face from just a few feet away. Doctors will not be able to fully examine her eye until after the swelling goes down and there is concern her vision may be lost.

Since August, thousands have traveled to the Standing Rock Sioux reservation and set up camps to protest the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline that would cross four states and transfer more than 450,000 gallons of oil.

The protestors argue the pipeline, which is slated to be constructed under the Missouri River, could potentially contaminate the water supply if it leaks.

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple has ordered the evacuation of all the camps out of concern for the frigid weather conditions and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has said those occupying a camp located on their land must vacate by Dec. 5 or risk being prosecuted for trespassing.

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