Nominee's Background:
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Tom B.K. Goldtooth (Dine' and Dakota), is the National Director of the Indigenous Environmental Network at Bemidji, Minnesota, located near the headwaters of the Mississippi River. He has been awarded with recognition of his achievements throughout the past 30 years from his college student years to his adult years as an activist for social change within the Native American community. During the mid 70s and 80s he was active in developing and directing Native programs that addressed unemployment, education, welfare, child and family protective services, foster care, legal rights, housing, cultural services, repatriation of Native human and cultural remains, and treaty rights issues.
In the 90s he became active in the environmental justice movement. From his participation and leadership in the First National People of Color Environmental Justice Leadership Summit in 1991 in Washington D.C. to the National Tribal Environmental Management Conference in Cherokee, North Carolina in 1992, he has become an environmental and economic justice leader, both locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. His leadership steered the development and coordination of the Indigenous Environmental Network, into an effective Native community-based environmental organization working on issues ranging from toxic and nuclear contamination to the protection of sacred lands and natural resources within traditional Native territories.
Since the early 90s he has advocated successfully for federal policy to support the capacity of federally recognized tribes to develop their environmental protection infrastructures and to address their environmental justice needs. He is author of a published article, Indigenous Nations: Summary of Sovereignty and Its Implications For Environmental Protection, published in a book, Environmental Justice, Issues, Policies and Solutions. He recently co-produced an award winning video documentary, Drumbeat For Mother Earth, that addresses the affects of bioaccumulative chemicals on Indigenous peoples. He recently completed his 2-year term as Chair of the Indigenous Peoples Sub Committee of the United States Environmental Protection Agencys National Environmental Justice Advisory Council. In this capacity, he provided leadership in the development and publication of the Guide on Consultation and Collaboration With Indian Tribal Governments and The Public Participation of Indigenous Groups and Tribal Members in Environmental Decision Making. A recent 2001 book publication, titled, From The Ground Up: Environmental Racism and the Rise of the Environmental Justice Movement features the accomplishments of Tom Goldtooth and the Indigenous Environmental Network in the chapter, In Defense of Mother Earth.
From the strength of his community organizing experience he has brought the issues of environmental justice and the rights of Indigenous peoples to the international level through United Nations treaty making bodies and conventions on issues of climate change, persistent organic pollutants and protection of biodiversity. He is active on many other environmental and social justice organizations, such as, The Environmental Justice Fund, Honor The Earth Campaign, Just Transition Alliance, and others.
Nominating Speech:
"We believe in the perspective that our indigenous communities we work with retain their autonomy. We have national meetings each year in various areas of North America that provide our network direction on issues ranging from agricultural food security, to mining, biodiversity, toxics, environmental health, and energy-related issues such as nuclear power, oil and gas, mega-dams and coal-fired power plants.
"Our constituency are community-based indigenous groups. We are involved with helping our communities in organizing and skills-building, policy development, advocacy and training, and education on issues. Our board of directors and our staff are all indigenous, strong in their tribal identity and culture. We employ indigenous organizers that are trained and experienced in the environmental justice issues they are working on. We have technical resource persons that we recruit who are indigenous and non-indigenous. Our philosophy is that we speak for ourselves as indigenous peoples. Our work balances traditional indigenous knowledge, our culture, our cosmo-vision --- with the modern world. Our foundation is our traditional knowledge."
Nominated by: Bill Moyer
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Progressive Criteria:
The Department of the Interior will
Work to protect and extend the Commons, our nation's common heritage: public lands, air and water, biodiversity;
Reverse the privatization of our public resources and stop the encroachment of commercial interests and polluting activities into our public lands;
Acknowledge the absolute value of wilderness and the natural environment in an ever more crowded world;
Support true economic development opportunities for Native Americans and work with tribal representatives to make sure that Native American resources are managed in an ethical, transparent and democratic manner.
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