Q’orianka Kilcher, Quechua, famous for playing Pocahontas in The New World, was arrested on Thursday in Virginia for participating an a protest against the Trans Pacific Partnership.

Negotiations over the controversial trade agreement were taking place at a golf resort in Leesburg, Virginia; Kilcher was filming a protest occurring outside the hotel when she was handcuffed. Before her arrest, Kilcher made the following statement, according to a Rainforest Action Network release:

The Trans Pacific Partnership would be devastating for people around the world and it is being negotiated in complete secrecy to hide the content, because these agreements would never see the light of day if US citizens and congress were allowed to see what is being proposed in our names.

While hundreds of corporate advisors have access to the information contained within these documents, the American public, the media and even members of congress do not. This sort of secrecy is highly undemocratic and is a complete disregard of all the systems of checks and balances established by the U.S. Constitution to avoid exactly this sort of thing.

The Trans Pacific Partnership has been criticized on a number of grounds; for one, the negotiations strike opponents are unusually secretive, as Kilcher’s statement indicates. The draft proposals are said to include excessive provisions for international enforcement of copyright and intellectual property law that would overrule established intellectual property practices.


 It has been suggested that this could have wide-ranging effects, including restricting the distribution of medicine and criminalizing such common pop-cultural practices as parody and cosplay. A group called StopTheTrap warns that fines and punishments could follow from internet use deemed illegal under the terms of the TPP.


Kilcher is an experienced advocate for the environment and human rights, having worked with a long list of organizations that includes Amnesty International, the International Forum on Globalization, Amazon Watch, and the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples. In 2010, Kilcher and her mother were arrested in front of the White House after she chained herself to the gate to protest selling of Peruvian rain forest land to corporations. Kilcher will next be seen in American theaters as Summer Sunshine in Manson Girls, a film about the women associated with Charles Manson in the summer of 1969.
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Q'orianka Waira Qoiana Kilcher (born February 11, 1990) is a U.S. actress, singer and activist. She is best known for her role as Pocahontas in the 2005 film The New World, directed by Terrence Malick. Her second memorable film role is Kaʻiulani in Princess Kaiulani.

Kilcher has made a commitment to human rights and environmental activism. She speaks on behalf of various causes to achieve what she regards as environmental justice and basic Human Rights. Traveling frequently to speak at youth events, colleges and universities, Kilcher has been a featured keynote speaker for organizations such as Amnesty International, the I.F.G. International Forum on Globalization,[8][clarification needed] Amazon Watch IFIP and The United Nations panel discussions entitled "Indigenous Peoples: Human Rights, Dignity and Development with Identity", in collaboration with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

She also lends her celebrity, voice and energy as spokeswoman, collaborator and supporter to several international and national N.G.O.s and organizations such as Youth Ambassador Amnesty International (Global Youth Ambassador for woman's Rights) AIDESEP(Spokesperson and Voice) Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest Federations) The Community School for the Arts foundation (volunteer/spokesperson) and Thursdays Child (youth counselor) Turning The Tides ((volunteer/spokesperson) Save Americas Forests,IDEM (South Dakota Youth Project) and is a spokesperson for the American Literacy Campaign.

Working with the National Endowment For the Arts on their "The Big Read" Campaign, she will record a book review.[citation needed] Kilcher has read Howard Zinn's The People Speak staged readings. She joined the cast for the first People Speak Film Series.

Kilcher recently launched her own youth-driven human rights and environmental organization "On-Q Initiative", to connect young Hollywood with youth activist leaders and projects from around the world, in support of environmental sustainability, corporate accountability, and basic human rights. Through her production company, IQ-Films, Kilcher is also producing several cause-driven documentaries and youth-programming projects.In addition to public activism, Kilcher is a silent advocate for the environment, driving a Honda FCX Clarity, a hydrogen fuel cell zero-emissions vehicle.



On June 11, 2009 she visited Lima to support indigenous peoples' rights in the Amazon Bagua, Peru. In 2007, Kilcher won the Brower Youth Award, a premier environmental award, for her work in persuading Occidental Petroleum to withdraw from the Peruvian Amazon valley. She received the Young Hollywood Green Award.

On June 1, 2010, Kilcher and her mother were arrested after Kilcher chained herself to the gates in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. while her mother poured black paint on her to signify oil. Kilcher was protesting President Barack Obama's meeting with Peruvian President Alan García, accusing him of selling land in the Amazon rainforest to corporations while suppressing indigenous protests. She and her mother were charged with disorderly conduct. The charges were dropped on June 6, 2011 after they completed community service. (Source: Wikipedia)