A pending court date for actress Shailene Woodley has been delayed by a month, according to The Washington Times. The Divergent series actress was arrested on October 10 while she was protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline. Woodley was one of 27 activists arrested on the site of the $3.8 billion pipeline protesters say would damage water supplies and ruin the Native American tribal lands of The Standing Rock Sioux. Woodley pleaded not guilty to the charges of criminal trespassing and engaging in a riot. She was set to stand trial on January 25 but now her new court date is set for February 22.
The 24-year-old penned an essay for Time.com where she shares her experience at the protest and why the world should be listening.
“I was in North Dakota, standing side by side with Native Americans,” she said. “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.”
She continued, “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.”
A total of 470 people have also been arrested for protesting to date. To learn more about Woodley is fighting against, you can learn more about it here.
