Q’orianka Kilcher on Peru

Nineteen year old Q’orianka Kilcher appeared on Democracy Now this week after winning the Young Hollywood Green Award. Q’orianka, who you might remember from her role as Pocahontas in Terrence Malick's The New World, took the opportunity at the award ceremony to draw attention to the violent clash currently happening in Peru between Amazonian Indians and Peruvian police. She dedicated the award to "Alberto Pizango, AIDESEP, as well as over 30,000 people in Peru that are protesting right now, peacefully protesting". Q'orianka, who is half Peruvian, had this to say about her role as Pocahontas ...

"And while The New World was an epic love story, it also showed the beginning of the colonizations of the Americas, which continues today, but it now has a new name, and it’s called “globalization.” And what multinational companies are doing in the Peruvian Amazon is a total disrespect to human life, as well as the environment."

I was impressed by how she managed to sound intelligent and yet still like a 19 year old in the was that she just wished she had Obama's cell number so she could give him a piece of her mind.

"Part of what is happening in Peru is the free trade agreement with the United States. I wish I had Obama’s cell phone number or something, because, I mean, my people are getting massacred over there, and CNN had a report that they are worried that what happened on Friday in the Bagua region is going to happen within forty-eight hours in the cities of Yurimaguas and Tarapoto. And they’re worried that this is going to happen.

And can I just say that it’s really horrible there. They are dumping bodies to hide the actual count of how many are dead. They’re dumping bodies in plastic bags from helicopters into canyons and rivers. They’re just discarding them.

And, I mean, I would love President Obama to get involved. He is, you know, the hope for the future. He’s the hope for the young people. And I just urge him to step up, because part of what is happening is the free trade agreement with the United States. This is one of the laws passed which opens up the Peruvian Amazon to extractive companies to allow easy access. And, I mean, I’m not too involved with the political side. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it myself, because it’s so much."

As Tensions Flare in Peruvian Amazon, Award-Winning Actor Q'orianka Kilcher Heads to Peru to Support Indigenous Rights

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