Shailene Woodley Opens Up About Arrest, Dakota Access Pipeline

— -- "Divergent" star Shailene Woodley was arrested earlier this month while protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota.

She has pleaded not guilty to the incident that happened live on Facebook, which she streamed on the site before local police intervened in the protest. Woodley faces a max penalty of 60 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $3,000 if convicted, according to court documents obtained by ABC News.

In an op-ed recently written for Time magazine, Woodley speaks about the arrest for the first time.

The actress, 24, said she and 200 others were protesting the pipeline because they believe "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." In all, 27 people were arrested during the protest. Woodley is expected back in court later this month.

Furthermore, Woodley believes Native Americans are being ignored and it took her, a white actress, getting arrested to bring attention to their cause.

"We are still silencing their dedication to protect us from the planetary consequences that will catastrophically bleed from our ignorance," she wrote in the magazine. "We wear their heritage, their sacred totems, as decoration and in fashion trends, failing to honor their culture ... We grow up romanticizing native culture, native art, native history ... without knowing native reality."

She continued, "We are allowing Native American voices to be swallowed by the white noise of distraction."

Woodley is referring to a federal court of appeals denying the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's request to block the ongoing construction of the pipeline by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners.

"When we talk about marginalized communities in our country, we do not (on a mainstream level) include Native Americans," she added. "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."

Woodley argues the 1,172-mile pipeline that Standing Rock tribal leaders resisted will ultimately impact all Americans.

"I know it is easy to be apathetic or detached from the reality that fossil fuel contamination could actually affect you and the ones you love… But hear me loud and clear: If you are a human who requires water to survive, then this issue directly involves you," she added in her piece.

She closed with, "Thank you, to all the tribes who have gathered. To all the nations standing as one. To all the people who know that if not we, then who? And if not now, then when? ... Will you join us?"

Catherine Thorbecke contributed to this report.