Shailene Woodley Writes Powerful Essay About Her Arrest During Pipeline Protest
Celebrity

The 'Snowden' star is raising awareness about Native Americans following their peaceful protest against Dakota Access Pipeline.

AceShowbiz - Shailene Woodley pens an essay on Time magazine to explain "the truth of [her] arrest" during Dakota Access Pipeline protest. The "Snowden" actress pleads not guilty after charged with criminal trespassing and engaging in a riot.

"I was in North Dakota, standing in solidarity, side-by-side with a group of over 200 water protectors, people who are fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline," she begins. "People who carry a rainbow of colors on their skin. People who gathered together because they realize that if we don't begin taking genuine steps to protect our precious resources - our soil, our water, our essential elements - we will not have a healthy or thriving planet to pass on to future generations."

"I was in North Dakota, standing side by side with Native Americans. You know, those who were here before us. Well, guess what, America? They're still here. And they are still fighting the good fight. A fight that serves each and every one of us. They are still putting their lives on the line to protect the roots that feed our existence. And, guess what else, dear America? They are still being ignored. We are still throwing them in jail."

"We wear their heritage, their sacred totems, as decoration and in fashion trends, failing to honor their culture. Headdresses, feathers, arrows. Moccasins, sage, beadwork," Woodley continues. "We grow up romanticizing native culture, native art, native history ... without knowing native reality."

"When we talk about marginalized communities in our country, we do not (on a mainstream level) include Native Americans. When we talk about sex trafficking in our country, we do not (on a mainstream level) include Native Americans. And when we talk about governmental integrity, we do not (on a mainstream level) include Native Americans. Treaties are broken. Land is stolen. Dams are built. Reservations are flooded. People are displaced. Yet we fail to notice. We fail to acknowledge. We fail to act."

"The reason we were freezing our a-es off on Oct. 10 in peaceful protest was because the night before (mind you, right after the presidential debate and on the eve of Indigenous Peoples' Day - coincidence?) the U.S. Court of Appeals denied an injunction to halt construction of the pipeline. As in: They began building once again."

"The day I was detained, 26 others had to dress in orange as well, as they were booked into the Morton County jail. Did you hear about them?" she writes. "And what could it look like if we learned from this instance, where it took myself getting detained to raise awareness about Native Americans?" She adds, "What if we took the hashtag #FreeShailene and made it #ProtectCleanWater, or #HonorNativeTreaties, or #IStandWithStandingRock?"

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