Q'orianka Kilcher joins 7 day Greenpeace Action in Amazon

Actress and human rights activist Q'orianka Kilcher last week joined the Greenpeace occupation of the anchor chain of a cargo ship in Brazil to protest the invasion of indigenous tribal land and illegal logging in the Amazon rainforest.

The 22 year old is known for her role as Pocahontas in Terence Malik’s 2006 Oscar nominated “The New World”, in which she co-starred with Colin Farrell. She also recently co-starred with Cuba Gooding Jr. in ABC’s “Firelight”. Q’orianka’s activism has taken her already to places like the World Peoples’ Summit on Climate Change and Rights of Mother Earth in Tiquipaya, Bolivia in 2010, and even jail for a peaceful protest at the White House in Washington D.C.

As long as activists occupy the anchor it’s impossible for the ship to dock and load its cargo of pig iron, a key ingredient in the steelmaking process. New Greenpeace research shows how pig iron is helping to destroy the Amazon rainforest and even contributing to slave labour in the region. The resulting steel is bought by global car companies for use in US factories.

Brazil’s President Dilma is preparing to host the world’s elite in Rio a month from now. Dilma is considering whether to veto changes to Brazil’s ‘forest code’ – a key law which has protected the Amazon for decades. Greenpeace considers it vital that she shows leadership to regain control and protect the Amazon. Q’orianka, who was tweeting from the anchor chain, has also retweeted Greenpeace’s call for Dilma to stand up and veto the changes.

Ongoing updates from Greenpeace concerning this campaign are available here.

Join: You can sign up here to get involved, or try Greenpeace’s Find A Brazilian app to help get 1.4m Brazilians to petition their government for a zero deforestation law.