Finalists Named for Ecotrust Indigenous Leadership Award

page 2 of 2

Jonathan Andrew Waterhouse
S'Klallam-Chippewa-Cree

Jonathan Andrew Waterhouse. Waterhouse has tirelessly worked to restore the Yukon River Watershed. Among his many roles, Waterhouse serves as executive director for the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (YRITWC), a grassroots organization that brings together 70 sovereign indigenous governments with a simple goal: "To be able to drink directly from the Yukon River." Waterhouse has been able to translate the group's leadership vision into meaningful and significant implementation. His work and that of the Watershed Council serve as a model for other indigenous peoples around the world, as they attempt to restore, protect and preserve their watersheds and to exercise their traditional knowledge as a foundation for achieving their goals.

Micah McCarty - Makah

Micah McCarty. As chairman of the Makah Tribal Council on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, McCarty has garnered important successes for Makah Nation by serving as a liaison between indigenous communities and the broader political system. His work in Neah Bay, Washington has led to significant headway in strengthening the response to oil spills in coastal waters, has helped protect tribal whaling rights, and has fostered stronger connections between tribal nations and US governments. McCarty's leadership on the Puget Sound Partnership brings deep traditional knowledge to a 21st century effort to clean up the sound.

Patience Andersen Faulkner - Chugach Eskimo

Patience Andersen Faulkner. Faulkner, a community organizer and traditional crafts teacher, is honored for her fostering of native culture and community health in her hometown of Cordova, Alaska. She has also carried her experience and wisdom to native communities and local organizers across the country. Her work centers on the idea that strong, revitalized native communities steeped in indigenous culture are the cornerstones for resilience in an ever changing world. When the inevitable forces of change bear down on Cordova and similar communities around the country - as they have in the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill and the Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico - Faulkner has been able to demonstrate that strong local ties and knowledge form a crucial safety net.

« previous page 1 | 2

photo credit Suzanne Fogarty, Swinomish Tribal Archive, Mike Bicknell, Mary Marshall, Debbie Ross-Preston;
posted July 25, 2012 7:45 am edt