Q'orianka Kilcher on Ellen Show

Comment:  I think this show was broadcast July 26, 2006, just before The New World opened.

Even in this brief segment, you can see Kilcher has a great voice and stage presence. She's a lot better than the Mariah Carey wannabes who flourish on shows like American Idol. Perhaps that's because she was a performer at the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica (a few miles from my home) before getting her break.

Besides acting and singing, she's living her Native values:

Q'orianka KilcherIn the past, she has campaigned for Amnesty International, on the subjects of the rights of women and indigenous people, in particular the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and petroleum industry contamination of the Amazon River Basin.

Kilcher is also the teen celebrity spokesperson for Thursday's Child, an international charity for at-risk children, where she has taken it upon herself to address issues concerning children and such topics as anorexia, bulimia, teen suicide, cutting, runaways, teen pregnancy and missing and exploited children.Compare Kilcher to Tinsel Korey and Julia Jones III, who got the female Quileute roles in Twilight. There's basically no comparison. Kilcher is infinitely better as a role model for Native youth.

While Korey and Jones are getting by on their "Indian princess" looks, Kilcher is busting stereotypes of young Native women. She has brains and a heart as well as beauty and talent. I'm guessing she'll have a great career as an activist and leader. Perhaps she'll be the next generation's Buffy Sainte-Marie.

For more on Kilcher, see "Sedition" and "Savages" in Peru and Celebrity Fundraiser Against Domestic Violence.