Shailene Woodley On Her Arrest: The Hype 'Ain't Gonna Save The World'

After Shailene Woodley was arrested during a peaceful protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline last week, fans on social media began supporting the actress with the hashtag #FreeShailene.

Although Woodley was grateful for the kind words, she recently expressed it's going to take more than a hashtag to solve the problem at hand.

The 24-year-old activist released a statement for TIME on Thursday that explains her passion behind the protest that caused her arrest.

In a first-hand narrative, she spoke about the severity of the issue behind the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline and its threat to environmental health.

Woodley mentioned the Native Americans -- whose land will be tarnished by the pipeline -- as well as water-drinking Americans who will be also be affected by the issue if no action is taken.

She even expressed no one actually knew about the Dakota Access Pipeline until she was arrested. She said,

So much so that it took me, a white non-native woman being arrested on Oct 10 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.

Woodley then admitted her appreciation for the kind responses by those who learned about her arrest but urged a change of pace. She stated,

I appreciate all of you out there who supported me while I was arrested. I am humbled and grateful for your love, your prayers and your hashtags... And what could it look like if we learned from this instance, where it took myself getting detained to raise awareness about Native Americans?

To initiate change, she suggested instead of using the hashtag #FreeShailene, to use ones like #ProtectCleanWater, #HonorNativeTreaties and #IStandWithStandingRock.

Her passion was apparent. She ended her statement in a powerful way, saying,

Simply feeding off the hype of a celebrity's arrest ain't going to save the world. But, standing together will.

Hell yeah, Shailene. You go, girl.

According to TIME, the actress pleaded not guilty on Wednesday and continues her fight to bring awareness to the pipeline issue.