Shailene Woodley is an incredibly persuasive writer and/or she had expert help with this new essay in Time because it moved me to tears. Shailene was arrested for criminal trespassing nearly two weeks ago protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota. She was released soon afterwards and plead not guilty on Wednesday. Shailene has joined members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and activists who have been trying to block a pipeline that would violate their sacred sites and potentially poison the Missouri River. She recorded her arrest, and the protests leading up to it, during a live broadcast on Facebook. You can see the full video here, it’s the most recent one and is two hours long. (The audio is broken at the beginning but it starts a couple of minutes in.) Shailene shows that the protesters are peaceful and that they are flanked by police in riot gear, which seems outrageous. She says “This is America and look what we’re faced with when we try to protect clean water.” At about 10 minutes left in the video, Shailene gets arrested by cops who arrived in an armed personnel carrier.
As a result of Shailene’s arrest the story of the pipeline protests, and the legal setbacks the group is facing, have received increased attention. Shailene is aware of the irony of a white actress bringing publicity to a native cause. In this essay she outlines the injustices committed against Native Americans in our country and makes it clear that this is yet another in a long shameful history. I’m only excerpting this first part of this and I would recommend you read the full essay.
I was arrested on Oct. 10, on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a holiday where America is meant to celebrate the indigenous people of North America.
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.
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 are still silencing their dedication to protect us from the planetary consequences that will catastrophically bleed from our ignorance.
We wear their heritage, their sacred totems, as decoration and in fashion trends, failing to honor their culture. Headdresses, feathers, arrows. Moccasins, sage, beadwork. You know what I’m talking about, Coachella. Walking around the flea market this weekend, I can’t even tell you how many native references I saw being used in a way that feeds our western narrative.
We buy plastic teepees from Toys-R-Us and set them up in our living rooms for children to play in.
We grow up romanticizing native culture, native art, native history… without knowing native reality.
Somehow, we’ve allowed 200-plus years to go by without questioning the western truth we have been told to believe about Native Americans.
And now, in 2016, in the day and age of exciting technology, which empowers revolution and curiosity, we are still blindly (or maybe not) allowing 200 years of unjust history to continue.
We are allowing Native American voices to be swallowed by the white noise of distraction.
Doesn’t this sadden you, America?
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.
So much so that it took me, a white non-native woman being arrested on Oct 10th in North Dakota, on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, to bring this cause to many people’s attention. And to the forefront of news publications around the world.
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?
Twenty-six men and women who put their livelihoods on the line, to protect their children, your children and my future children.
Twenty-six men and women who realize that millions of people depend on the Missouri River for drinking water.
Wow I have so much respect for her for taking on this case, lending her celebrity to it, and for giving credit and appreciation where it’s due – to the Native Americans and activists fighting on the frontlines. Shailene is very much an earth mother type, she’s said some goofy things in the past, but she’s found her footing, she’s found her cause and she may have found her calling at a young age. She can do incredible things in her life and I have the feeling this is just the start.
Shailene is supporting renewable energy and has urged people to change the hashtag #FreeShailene to one of the more fitting #ProtectCleanWater, #HonorNativeTreaties and #IStandWithStandingRock
We stand with Standing Rock and you can support the cause here.
photos credit: Getty, FameFlynet and Shailene Woodley/Instagram]
I hope they stop the pipeline. I’m from an area where the British Columbia govt is pushing through the Site C dam on the mighty Peace river, flooding a micro climate that’s fantastic farmland and First Nations territory. It’s very upsetting to see the militarisation of a civilian police force and that it’s used against peaceful protesters.
I hope they stop it as well. I believe clean water is our next big battle. Most of the world doesn’t have it and those of us who do
sHOULD be protecting and conserving it, not building pipelines. Good on our indigenous folks for being truth tellers and good on Shailene for using her voice for something more than personal gain and “likes”
The sad truth is that here in Canada we have the larges reserve of natural fresh water in the world so politicians don’t care about 1 river when we have hundreds more rivers, lakes and icebergs to pick at.
Completely agree.
Powerful.
This is such a good example of how a celebrity can use their notoriety for a very important cause!
I learned so much about treaties that I didn’t know when I viewed an exhibit at the Native American Museum in D.C. last year. Blew my mind! It’s a great place, that shows native communities worldwide are alive and well and fighting for their rights and for protection of natural resources. Here is a link to the exhibit: http://www.nmai.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/item/?id=934
That is an incredibly powerful exhibit!
Never was a fan of this one, but there’s no shade to be thrown here. Keep it up, Shailene.
I echo your comment.
I agree!
And to think she used to say things like “I’m not a feminist because I love men”…wow. Just wow. Total 180° turn. This is what being an ally looks/should look like. If only more young celebs were like her.
Agreed. It’s like she’s finally following up her view points with a lot of steady hard knowledge and facts and that makes her a MUCH bigger ally for her causes. She’s growing and it shows. I appreciate that.
Also, I think she is a tremendous actress. I’ve enjoyed her acting in everything I’ve seen her in (divergent series excluded) and hope she will continue to grow and produce quality work and interesting interviews.
No shade to her no shade vagina, I enjoyed her holistic earthy discussions too.
I choked a little, reading that, and googled, and then sighed.
She is a feminist. She just doesn’t know what feminism means. She’s come out with a bunch of strongly feminist statements. It’s really sad when young women are told feminism is about anything other than simple equality – hopefully she’ll get it.
Meanwhile she is doing fantastic things with this, and I really admire her for it.
Now this gives me some respect for her. Between this and the attention from the Amy Goodman case I think there’s hope this pipeline will be stopped.
I could give a rat’s ass about her politics, but wow, does she have a pretty smile.
It’s not “politics” to care about our water.
Or the rights of Indigenous peoples.
Good for her.
You know, in all the Trump (and for me in Britain, Brexit) hysteria, a lot of things have been put aside, haven’t they? Not one question asked about climate change in any of the presidential debates or in our election or referendum campaigns here. Not one. Nothing about environmental degradation at all.
Our children will be sorry.
Celebitchy – I hope you continue writing about this hereabouts. If you remind me with an article once a month, I’ll make it part of my monthly donation list.
good for Shai. she’s putting in the work not just saying the words or throwing money around.
I really admire her and what she’s doing for her cause. Best wishes to the activists, I hope they succeed.
Amazingly well put!
#waterislife
This completely changes my opinion of her. I disliked her before; now I respect her.
I feel grateful that Shailene Woodley went to Standing Rock, joined with the water protectors, used social media to make her presence and participation known, *and* got arrested *on Indigenous People’s Day.* Just the fact of her being a famous actress has done a lot to bring more mainstream awareness to #NODAPL and and that is a very important contribution.
It’s funny that most people know her from the Divergent series where she plays someone trying to defy the system and change her entire government, and actually her actions at Standing Rock are a much more visceral (and of course real) version of that same narrative.