Hello readers,
I conducted an interview with Q'orianka Kilcher for the August edition of Cliche Magazine, the Green Issue. This issue is out today, which also features an editorial story by top fashion photographer Anthony Elgort titled DOLLY.
My name should have been noted as the author and the photo credits on Q'orianka's interview piece should go to Saskia for Image on-Q.
Clothing details on Elgort's DOLLY STORY by Stylist Arina Gasonova were also not published.
The editor-in-chief acknowledges these errors and they will be announced in the September issue with appropriate credits given.
Regards,
Meilinda Soerjoko
Photo:Saskia for Image on-Q.
Known for her role as Pocahontas in The New World, 19-year-old actress Q'orianka Kilcher speaks out about Peruvian rainforests, its survival and what recently happened in the country. Being part indigenous Peruvian and having lived in Hawaii, she is passionate about the rights of native peoples, the protection of lands and environment in general. Kilcher is not your typical Hollywood teen actress: known to never have pumped a single gallon of gasoline in her car (she drives a Honda FCX Clarity, a zero-emission vehicle), she cares more about social responsiblity than wearing designer dresses to movie premiers and red-carpet events. It is such a refreshing change to see someone of her status and talent care so much about the world we live in, with the most genuine fashion. Below is an interview with Q'orianka Kilcher:
Cliche Magazine: You have a very diverse background in terms of cultural, ethnicity and places you have lived in. Do you think all of these factors have contributed in your involvement as an activist in environmental issues?
Q'orianka Kilcher: I think that having lived and traveled in different places definitely have influenced me in many ways. I think it has helped me to see beyond the horizons and safe walls of my own life and made me aware of all the beautiful things and all the challenges existing in different places.
In the name of development and progress we have become the leaders of environmental destruction, and it appears to me that many people seem to see our relationship to nature as an obstacle to progress, rather than a necessity along with progress. I think the most straight forward lesson learned while traveling is that pressing environmental issues facing our planet today are not confined within but rather extend beyond borders. We all are connected. Everything each one of us does will, in some way, affects all of us.
CM: How long did you live in Hawaii and do you find any similarities between the native Hawaiian culture and that of your own indigenous Peruvian background?
QK: We share many similarities in regards to our cultures and struggles, even though we are thousands of miles apart from each other.
Traditionally indigenous peoples in Hawaii and Peru have lived in harmony with Mother Earth. Their lifestyles are based on environmentally-sustainable principles and practices, without exploiting and destroying their children’s future. Throughout history, indigenous peoples' interests have NOT been represented well by their state governments, leading to extreme poverty and loss of culture. We have not learned from the past. To this day, indigenous peoples around the world continuously struggle for basic rights to lands, resources, culture, identity, and self-determination.
Ever since I filmed The New World, I have chosen to use my public persona and voice to speak out and raise awareness towards the struggles of indigenous peoples.
I recently finished shooting another film which I hope will educate the public on the overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy. I hope that the film will help raise awareness and encourage people to educate themselves about a dark chapter in Hawaii's history and all the challenges remaining.
Photo:Saskia for Image on-Q.
You were recently in Lima to show support for the indigenous people of Peruvian Amazon who are against the commercialization of the rainforest. Tensions flared last month and you spoke about this when you received the Green Award at the Young Hollywood Awards. What is the latest update on this situation and your current involvement?
QK: Peru…. Ahhhh…Well, I am so, so glad you ask ! It is so important that people write about what is really happening , since there are a lot of things that took place over there behind closed doors. So I'm super glad to be able to give you and the readers an overview over this complex situation.
Most people know about the importance of the Amazon rain forests for all of us, humanity and the survival of all generations to come. What most people don't know is that more than 75% of the Peruvian Amazon has been allocated for oil and gas extraction and that the current government of Alan Garcia has been pushing for more. They have passed a series of new laws which enable the government to auction off indigenous peoples’ lands to oil, mining and logging corporations without their consent.
Since April 2009, more than 50,000 indigenous men, women and children have been holding peaceful protests to defend their rights to protect the environment, as well as
pressing for these laws to be overturned. Under the pretext of implementing the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, Peru’s President used special powers to pass these laws without the approval of Congress or any consultation with the indigenous people inhabiting these lands. While indigenous peoples were protesting , Garcia had signed 15 more contracts for oil concessions in the Amazon. These new laws directly undermine indigenous peoples' rights and in violation with rights recognized in the national constitution as well as in international treaties, including the United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples and the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 169.
However, in an attempt to criminalize the protesters, Garcia publicly announced indigenous peoples to be enemies of the state, terrorists, barbaric savages and third-class citizens who stand in the way of progress against the improvement of Peruvian economy.
Unfortunately, as usual, these exploitive policies are promoted by a handful of people who benefit from it and yet negatively impact the lives of many. The government of Peru chose to take a big step backwards by selling out to the oil and logging companies and even resorting to the use of military force and violence against people whose weapon is their peaceful presence.
The situation has turned violent and on June 6th, in the early morning hour of 2 a.m, Peruvian Special Forces approached demonstrators near Bagua whilst they were asleep, firing tear gas and live ammunition from helicopters and machine guns. Eyewitnesses reported on how the protesters had gotten down on their knees with their hands up, but the police ignored their pleas and fired straight into their bodies as they were begging for their lives not to be shot.
There were reported deaths of police officers resulting from self-defense of the unarmed demonstrators. According to eyewitnesses' accounts this was not a clash between demonstrators and policemen-it was instead a direct result of coordinated police raids where protesters were fired from all sides as the crowd scrambled to save their lives and ran into the steep surrounding hills.
So when I flew over there last month, it was an emergency trip. I just could not sit here anymore and do nothing. I just had to go and counter Peru's propaganda and the local media's false statements , who blamed indigenous peoples of being terrorists and savages, while completely ignoring the voices of thousands of Peruvians.
Understandably, Peru's Garcia regime controls the media with economic pressure, through favors and investments in advertising and access to government contracts.
It was a fierce battle. I attacked the local media and they attacked me. I even had members of Congress speculating that I must had been financed by some foreign power to tumble the Garcia regime. So it was quite scary, but fortunately I got several great press conferences and interviews and was able to have many of my Peruvian brothers and sisters' voices heard by the always-hungry entertainment media. So that was good, that was what I had hoped for.
I also brought 50 cameras and crew over there, so people could tell their stories and videotape the truth. Video cameras are such powerful weapons of truth against human rights abuse and government oppression. If it had not been for the videos, Peru's Garcia regime would have gotten away with lies about the violent massacre in Bagua.
Sadly, there are still many people missing. Reports range from 40 to 900 missing indigenous bodies at the time this was written. Investigations continue to be tainted and manipulated by the power players. This situation continues to be a big challenge.
Moreover, many indigenous communities' leaders are denounced as terrorists and enemies of the state and became scapegoats of the massacre.
I currently have 2 professional journalists over in Peru , who are doing the investigations I started. The 50 cameras I mentioned are placed with indigenous youths who are conducting interviews and collecting evidences as a part of On-Q Initiatives “Youth for Truth” Campaign. We are not going to stop until we know what happened to the many still missing people.
One day before I left Peru, the government passed two controversial laws, admitted to have handled things poorly and even agreed to finally meet indigenous leaders at the negotiation table! However, I personally see this as a game, in order to calm things down and losen the pressure from the international community. I don’t see this as a reason to celebrate, especially since the government is still actively pursuing all arrest warrants of all indigenous leaders.
Garcia is trying to present a more friendly image to the public but to us he is determined to continue 'business as usual'. He just signed another oil contract giving the green light to the Anglo-French company Perenco to drill 14 wells in Block 67. Perenco's chairman, Francois Perrodo, met Peru's President Alan García in Lima and pledged to invest $2 billion in the project.
Perenco admits that contamination of soil and water due to drilling are possible consequences of its company's work. These impacts have grave implications for the survival of the "uncontacted" indigenous believed to inhabit the area. Moreover, the indigenous inhabitants face the threat of contamination from diseases to which they have no immunity, something which very well may result in the genocide of an entire ethnic group.
As you see, we have not learned from the past and we continue to exploit and rape Mother Earth in the name of political greed . The story continues..when will we learn?
CM: What other environmental issues/organizations or charities are you passionate about?
QK: In this day and age of technology and access to the Internet, we no longer can be oblivious towards the pressing issues facing the world. I like the saying “there comes a time when silence is betrayal."
As a young artist living in the current state of media and technology, I feel a great responsibility to leverage the power of media, its attention towards me and my own voice to bring about positive changes into this world: to speak out for environmental justice, human rights and social issues.
In the past 4 years I have focused on redirecting all my media attention towards as many different important issues possible. I try to do all I can every day. I never say "no" when it comes to supporting a good cause, when your heart tells you something is wrong, you no longer can sit around and do nothing.
All of us here are dreamers of universal dignity, compassion and human rights. It is up to the young generation to keep the commitment towards positive changes alive and ignite those who have lost it. We have to stand up and demand drastic positive environmental changes. We have to ensure that the environment does not suffer because of politics and greed. We also have to speak out and protect individuals where justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied.
So that’s how I end up being involved in many different things: from indigenous people's rights and preserving the Amazon, fighting oil, logging or mining companies , working with “Turning The Tides” for clean oceans, human rights abuse in Congo, teen eating disorders and drug abuse, women's rights and domestic violence issues and of course my own organization On-Q Initiative.
All the problems are really interconnected. There is an absolute interdependence and connection between the ocean, earth, air, plants, animals, forests and all living things, including us. Taking care and respecting these, is of global importance to all of us. We all have one common need: a clean and healthy environment! Our problem is not global warming, nor the poisoning of ocean, soil and food. The problem is how we think. We need to understand that we can not eat, drink or breathe money or profit.
We have to understand that some things don’t have prices but they have value!
CM: Let's talk about your life as an artist. You received great reviews for your role in The New World as Pocahontas at the young age of 14. How did that come about and what is coming up for your acting career? What is the Untitled Qorianka Kilcher project listed on imdb?
QK: I had no idea that I was going to be the lead in The New World. I am forever grateful for the opportunity that was given to me. At first I was a little worried about playing such a historic figure. My biggest concern was that I really wanted to do the spirit of Pocahontas justice.
BookingThe New World was an extraordinary opportunity and I am commited to use the priviledge of my celebrity status to bring some of the same important issues to the attention of the international community. The New World is not just a dark chapter in our history. And while some people might perceive the movie to be a love story (yes, I did get to kiss Colin Farrel AND Christion Bale) fundamentally it is about the beginning of the colonization of the Americas. The colonization of the Americas continues today. It is now called "globalization."
There is a clear connection between globalization, pressing environmental issues and human rights abuse. Unfortunately, we have not learned from our past. Traditionally indigenous peoples around the world have lived in harmony with Mother Earth and their lifestyles are based on environmentally-sustainable principles and practices,
without exploiting and destroying their children’s future.
Therefore, I think that indigenous people's wisdom, knowledge, way of life and sustainable ways of developing natural resources have absolute contemporary relevance to modern society. Indigenous people all around the world sit on the "frontlines" of globalization's expansion and are the gate keepers to the last pristine places on earth, where resources like oil, gas, timber, uranium, gold ,water, minerals and genetic diversity are still abundant.
Just like in the times of Pocahontas, many indigenous peoples are still removed from their ancestral territories; their ancestral territories exploited and polluted and future generations faced with the threat of extinction. And to this day, the 370 million indigenous people's interests are still not properly represented by their state governments.
When I learned that I was scheduled to promote my film “The New World” in Peru, with a big premiere and lots of press, I contacted Amazon Watch and asked them to assist me in using my movies' publicity for something else other than answering the same question of "how was kissing Colin Farrell like?" a thousand times.
I decided to highlight the struggle between the Achuar people in the northern part of the Peruvian Amazon and the multinational oil companies, who have been contaminating the region for 35 long years, without the government nor the oil companies ever acknowledging or addressing that there is a problem.
The Untitled Project you asked about, is a documentary I started in 2006, when I first went to Peru. It is the story about how Occidental Petroleum, a Los Angeles-based oil company, has been using practices outlawed in the U.S such as pumping an average of 800,000 gallons a day of salty formation waste waters containing concentrated levels of cancer-causing hydrocarbons, lead, cadmium and other heavy metals into local rivers, contaminating the water supply and food chain with devastating consequences for local communities.
I finance all my activism and projects myself, out of my film salary, so things are kind of on hold until I do another film or find an investor .
As for future projects, I really would like to do a more commercial film, maybe an action movie (I'm a Black belt in Wushu Kung Fu and also do stunt work) or maybe even a romantic comedy.
Photo: Saskia for Image on-Q.
CM: When we met at Boxeight LA Fashion Week, you told me about starting up a new eco-friendly fashion line made for teens. You wanted to let them know that one can buy nice things without having to spend a lot of money on it as well as being eco-friendly. Is the clothing line going to come out soon?
QK: Gen-Q is more than a clothing line, it’s a concept and also a movement. As soon as I started to do press junkets and promotion for The New World, I realized that there were designers who all wanted to give me these super expensive clothes and hand bags for free, for the purpose of promoting their labels.
It seemed strange to me that celebrities get things for free, while homeless and poor families are ignored by business owners. I decided that I shall not endorse this madness.
Gen-Q was born out of rebellion. I am proud to say that I have never worn any designer stuff on any of the red carpets.
I was thinking about the countless of young girls living below the poverty line, here and especially in Third World Countries. And it just felt really wrong to be wearing a $10,000 dress, thinking that some poor girl may be digging through garbage for food would maybe one day find an old magazine with ME on it wearing a $10,000-designer gown. I believe that with great power comes great responsibility.
The fact is that celebrities have always been fashion idols for girls worldwide. So I wanted to make a statement in solidarity with all the girls who barely have enough to eat.
So that is why I decided to start making my own clothes ( Gen-Q by Qorianka ) , and promote my ‘clothing Line’ GEN-Q with the hopes of harnessing the power and priviledge of being a celebrity and create some buzz behind the name, to create an entirely new concept of fashion line.
I started Gen-Q by making all of my own clothes for the red carpet out of recycled materials. I did so to inspire and empower other young kids to be creators , rather than consumers. Gen-Q’s mission is to break the cycle of over-consumption, economic and social pressures and hardships by encouraging youth to take charge of their own lives and tap into their own's creativity. We are also helping the launch of aspiring creative up-and-coming designers, jewelry makers and artists, as well as jumpstart their entrepreneurial dreams.
Of course it's all a bit harder than I thought and I am hoping for a visionary investor or business-minded person to help me “officially” launch Gen-Q, so I can help more people and bring these amazing creations to another level. For now, I do what I can…
I am also launching one of the first international collaborations: Gen-Q–Shipibo (me in the red dress! ) These beautiful designs are made by the Shipibo people of the Peruvian Amazon. 100% of all proceeds go directly to the Shipibo communities who create the garments. We have several sexy and classy dresses, shirts and bathing suits, all with beautiful indigenous traditional designs.
Another project of Gen-Q is “Bag Lady Bags”. The first ever hand bag line created entirely by women in homeless shelters to help them get off the streets. All bags are made out of 100% recycled material and include the “forever bag”, which is made by strips of old plastic bags crocheted into several beautiful designs. It's all abour re-using.
CM: You appear more mature than most 19-year-olds. What is the one thing that people would never guess about you? :)
QK: Haha...ok... something no one would guess about me???? Well, I still live with my family and I am super happy to do so!
Also, I love eating green peas straigh out of the can. It's a good memory from the days when we first came to L.A and the whole family was living in this super small broken-down motorhome, with no money. Actually , when I was doing film promotions and got to travel first class and stayed in 5-star hotels, I got tired of the fancy food and was craving green peas and Refried Beans!
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