While Q’orianka Kilcher’s film career has slowed down a bit since 2005’s The New World, her activism has become increasingly visible and pushed her into the spotlight as a voice for important causes around the world.

In recognition of her work (which we’ve profiled several times on Ecorazzi) Kilcher has been given the premiere environmental award for young people in the US; the Brower Youth Award. Each year, the awards are given to six environmental leaders aged 13 to 22 from North America. The winners each receive a $3,000 cash prize, are honored at a formal awards ceremony in San Francisco, and participate in skills-building and mentoring workshops geared toward furthering their leadership development.

Kilcher’s work for drawing attention to pressing human rights and environmental injustices occurring as a result of oil company Occidental Petroleum in the Peruvian Amazon were specifically singled out. From the release,

“She invited indigenous leaders to participate in a red carpet event, toured the impacted communities and conducted interviews with affected peoples for a documentary, collaborated with U.S. based campaigners Amazon Watch, and met with employees of oil companies to request that they tour the impacted area.”

We congratulate Q’orianka and wish her the best in continuing to help others around the world fight back against environmental injustice.