What's this celebrity doing at Sun Watch?

The sun shone down hot and bright as a circle of over 50 people gathered at SunWatch Indian Village and Archeological Park to give a blessing to the 36 runners about to depart for Columbus.

It would have been incredibly easy to miss actress Shailene Woodley among the crew of Lakota First Nations peoples and members of the #UpToUs Caravan, who converged today in Dayton as a rest and refueling point on their journey to run from the Standing Rock Reservation in South Dakota to Washington DC in protest of a pipeline being erected on First Nations grounds.

>>RELATED: Actress Shailene Woodley spent five hours writing a letter to gain major movie role

>>PHOTOS: Celebrites spotted at the  2016 DNC

However, there was no pomp and circumstance around the lead of the Divergent movie series -- she ran around barefoot as she helped to prepare and assemble breakfast for the runners before their departure.

"We were coming back from the DNC and discovered we'd cross paths with the runners here in Dayton, so we decided to meet up and help out," Woodley said.

>>VIDEO: Shailene Woodley's rise to fame

Per the official statement about the gathering, Woodley is to have stated:

"I stand with the youth from Standing Rock Reservation to tell the Army Corps of Engineers thatit is their responsibility to protect the land, the lives, and the safety of all people, including our Native American brothers and sisters. The construction of this pipeline sacrifices the livelihood of those who live on Standing Rock. To stand together in solidarity with those whose voices areoften ignored in mainstream media."

Several other member of local Native American and First Nations organizations were also present to help spread the word about Native peoples and the injustices faced both on their reservations and within larger society.

The runners departed around 2pm on their way to Columbus, running a relay-style endurance race, to which members of the Up To Us Caravan were to join, including Woodley.

Woodley is best known for her roles as Amy on the television series Secret Life of the American Teenager, Hazel in The Fault in Our Stars, and Beatrice "Tris" Prior in The Divergent Series. She will play Lindsay Mills in Snowden and Jane Chapman in the upcoming HBO miniseries Big Little Lies.

Have any tips or hints you'd like to share? Email this reporter at tabatha.wharton@coxinc.com!

About the Author