Journalist Erin Schrode filmed the moment she was shot with a rubber bullet by police. Picture: Twitter

Self-described activist Erin Schrode was at the reservation in North Dakota on Thursday to cover the ongoing campaign to halt the development of a massive Dakota Access Pipeline they claim could disturb local water supplies and sacred sites.

Ms Schrode was interviewing a man at the edge of a creek within the reservation when she was hit with a rubber bullet.

In her video she can be heard screaming before she hits the ground:

Her video of the shooting has been retweeted over 19,000 times.

In a Facebook post she said she was “badly shaken” by the incident and told Fusion that she was in “excruciating pain” at the time.

“I am hurting, I am incensed, I am weeping, I am scared,” she said.

“I couldn’t fathom that I’d just been hit. Why would they target me? Why would they shoot anyone?

“There was absolutely nothing violent, aggressive, provocative going on at the protests yesterday.

“I can’t believe what is happening here in Standing Rock ... It’s a scene like I’ve never seen anywhere else in the world, and it’s right here at home.”

She also posted an image of the police who shot her.

Morton County Sheriff’s Department said the use of rubber bullets came after a protester allegedly hurled a bottle at police, and they also confirmed the use of tear gas and pepper spray to deter protesters from getting too close.

Although Schrode captured footage of the shooting on camera, police are refusing to acknowledge the incident occurred.

When asked about the video a spokeswoman for the Morton County Sheriff’s Office said that while officers were aware of the footage, they have no way to prove Schrode was actually shot.

“We don’t even know if that’s even true,” spokeswoman Donnell Preskey said.

“We’re not confirming that that’s even the case.”

They also said that there weren’t any injuries reported to police but that the “whole matter is under investigation”.

Erin Schrode describes herself on Twitter as a “Citizen activist. Eternal optimist. Journalist”.Source:Twitter

In response, Schrode says that there are dozens of witnesses who can back up her account and took the opportunity to praise the dedication of the protesters.

“Peaceful, prayerful, unarmed, nonviolent people on one side of a river; militarised police with armed vehicles and assault weapons occupying treaty land on the other, where sacred burial grounds have already been destroyed,” she wrote.

“To see police fire on me is outrageous and indefensible,” she said.

“I’m not going to back down, I’m not going to shut up, I’m not going to leave. I’m in.”