Pawnee, OK-Far from glitz and glamour of Hollywood and the increasingly frenetic pace of the New World movie promotion, fifteen year-old Q’orianka Kilcher found herself in rural Oklahoma this past weekend to promote the Pawnee Nation’s new tribal college. Kilcher, who plays “Pocahontas” opposite actor Collin Farrell’s “John Smith” in the upcoming New World movie, traveled to Pawnee to attend the Pawnee Nation Academy’s basketball tournament, student recruiting fair, and benefit concert on December 3rd. The event, attended by several hundred people, was organized by the tribal college to raise funds for the Academy’s operations and raise awareness about the fledging college.
Kilcher who is Quechua/Huachipaeri first learned of the Academy from fellow New World movie actors Marcus and Brian Frejo, both Pawnee and Seminole. “While we were shooting the New World Brian and Quese (Marcus Frejo) shared a lot with me about their Pawnee history. There are many similarities our Indigenous tribes share in regards to our culture and our struggles, even though our tribes are thousands of miles apart from each other. We also shared our visions and hopes in how we, the younger generation, can take positive initiatives within our tribes,” explained Kilcher.
“I was excited to learn that the Pawnee Academy offers some important educational and cultural opportunities to students, such as learning the Pawnee language,” stated Kilcher. “Now Pawnee tribal members and all Indian and non-Indian people living around Pawnee will be able to have access to affordable and high quality higher education through the Academy,” Kilcher said. “When Quese and Brian called me, I was very excited and happy to help out anyway that I could,” Kilcher stated.
The Academy also held a student recruiting fair which Kilcher helped to promote by organizing a silent-auction of tickets to a private screening of the New World in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, that Q’orianka will be attending December 26th. Kilcher also donated jewelry from her new jewelry line she is designing (‘Generation-Q’) to help raise funds for the Academy. The young New World actress also spent much of the day signing autographs, visiting and even shooting some hoops with local Pawnee youth. Kilcher also assisted in awarding tournament champions their prizes Saturday evening. “I had such a great time getting to know the Pawnee people and learning about the Academy. They truly have some very unique class offerings.” Kilcher said. “After spending the weekend at the Pawnee Nation and seeing everything that the Academy has to offer I agreed to support them by being an Honorary Spokesperson. Hopefully I can help raise some awareness and support for the college while I am promoting the New World,” Kilcher stated.
Kilcher will serve as Honorary Spokesperson along with Brian Frejo, also an accomplished actor, DJ and motivational speaker. “Brian Frejo has contributed significantly to our efforts raise funds and bolster student recruiting for the Academy,” stated Academy President Dr. Todd Fuller. “He was the major catalyst in getting Q’orianka and his brother Quese to come out to support the school and also helped to draw in our major event sponsors such as Native Threads, Lakes Entertainment, Red Plains Inc., and AVP Metro Petroleum/Conoco Phillips. The addition of Q’orianka Kilcher as a spokesperson along with Brian will greatly help the school and is something that the Pawnee Nation and the Academy are deeply honored and excited about. We are exceptionally thankful to Q’orianka, her mother, New Line Cinema, and the Frejo brothers for their support, which, in the last few weeks, has helped the Academy raise over $60,000,” stated Dr. Fuller.
The Academy’s event culminated in an all-ages Blues and Hip-Hop concert Saturday evening. Q’orianka surprised the several hundred attendees with a singing performance. Kilcher, who is an accomplished singer, sang a set of blues songs, much to the delight and surprise of the audience. She was followed by Cecil Gray and the Red Dawn Blues Band. The headline act for the evening was Culture Shock Camp featuring DJ Shock B (Brian Frejo) and Quese IMC (Marcus Frejo). At the end of the evening, a tired but happy Kilcher stated, “I am so honored to have been able to be a part of this very fun event for the Academy and I look forward to let everyone know how excited I am about Pawnee’s tribal college.”
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