Portland, Ore., — Nominations are open for Ecotrust’s 12th annual Indigenous Leadership Award, recognizing native leaders dedicated to improving the social, economic, and environmental conditions of their homelands.
Since 2001, Ecotrust has recognized 54 tribal leaders from Oregon, Washington, California, western Montana, Nevada, Idaho, Alaska, British Columbia, and the Yukon Territory.
“This is a recognition of a new generation of leaders — the one our grandparents looked toward — with the infrastructure and the expertise to be able to do the great work we’re doing now,” says Brian Cladoosby, chairman of the Swinomish Tribe, current president of the National Congress of American Indians, and a 2012 Indigenous Leadership Award recipient.
Micah McCarty, former chairman of the Makah Tribe and a 2012 ILA honoree added: “Having a non-Native organization see value in what we’ve been able to accomplish builds a stronger community for us all.”
Nominations are due by April 1st, 2014.
A reading panel, composed of tribal leaders and Ecotrust senior staff will narrow the nomination pool, and a jury panel consisting of distinguished indigenous leaders and former recipients of the ILA, will choose three finalists to be honored this November.
Details for the 2014 Indigenous Leadership Award ceremony are forthcoming. All are welcome to attend.
Nomination guidelines and forms are available online atwww.ecotrust.org/indigenousleaders/guidelines.html.
The Indigenous Leadership Award is part of Ecotrust’s commitment to a growing network of esteemed tribal and First Nations leaders. They are addressing some of the most pressing issues in our region; hold long-range vision and values; and combine a deep knowledge of land and marine ecosystems with resilience, ingenuity and innovative capacity.
“Ecotrust believes a new model of development is possible only through authentic engagement with the people who first inhabited the place we all call home,” says Astrid Scholz, president of Ecotrust. “These awards showcase the great work that is currently being done by indigenous leaders of the bioregion and offer us all working examples of resilience in action.”
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About Ecotrust
For more than 20 years, Ecotrust has converted $80 million in grants into more than $800 million in capital assets for local people, businesses, and organizations from Alaska to California. Ecotrust’s many innovations include co-founding the nation’s first environmental bank, starting the world’s first ecosystem investment fund, creating a range of programs in fisheries, forestry, food, farms and indigenous affairs, and developing new scientific and information tools to improve social, economic and environmental decision-making. Ecotrust works locally in ways that promise hope abroad, and it honors and supports the wisdom of Native and First Nations leadership in its work. Learn more at www.ecotrust.org