Q'Orianka, who won the Brower Youth Awards in 2007 for her commitment to activism and environmentalism, was arrested, along with her mother, for chaining herself to the White House Fence and pouring black paint (representative of oil) on her body. Q'Orianka, whose father is a Peruvian Indian, was protesting President Obama's meeting with Peruvian President Alan García. García's policies leave indigenous people and their land open to exploitation and damaging removal of resources. There has been increased anger in Peru around the issues and Q'Orianka was acting in support. She was forcibly removed and charged with disorderly conduct. Her mother was arrested for defacing government property. The story has been covered on a number of media sites, including ABC news and the Huffington post. She was also interviewed on Democracy Now shortly after.

Read the transcript or hear the interview at http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/3/peru

How can you get involved and help the Indian populations of Peru?

Visit http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/isolatedperu#actnow and learn more about the cause. On the website, you can write a letter to the Peruvian government, your local or national government official, donate to the Uncontacted Indians Campaign, or voice your concerns to a Peruvian embassy.