B.C. leader a finalist for Ecotrust Buffett Award

Page 3

The fifth annual Buffett Award for Indigenous Leadership will be presented to Chairman W. Ron Allen during a ceremony at Ecotrust's Centre in Portland, Oregon on Nov. 30, where four other finalists will also be honored for the commitments they've made to their communities and environments. Chief Robert Pasco (Nlaka'pamux) of Ashcroft, B.C. is among them.

Robi Michelle Craig (Kiks.adi Clan) Sitka, Alaska; Leaf Hillman (Karuk) Orleans, California; and Chairman Shawn Yanity (Stillaguamish), Arlington, Washington round out the finalists who will each receive a $2,500 cash award.

According to information from the Ecotrust Web site, www.ecotrust.org, the Buffett award is one of the most important resources for supporting tribal leaders within the lands and water of the Salmon Nation. The award is intended to provide resources for the development and transfer of knowledge in Indigenous communities. It recognizes Indigenous leadership that improves social, economic, political or environmental conditions.

"The Buffett Award is to honor and support each year nominated Indigenous leaders from Salmon Nation that have been nominated and recognized for their unique contributions to their communities and through their leadership," said Craig Jacobson, vice-president, Native programs for Ecotrust.

Ecotrust was created in 1991 and since then has stood by their mission to help build the Salmon Nation, which is anywhere the Pacific salmon have ever run.

"It goes from the northern part of Alaska down through parts of the Yukon, British Columbia, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Northern California. Overall, our mission is building Salmon Nation."

Jacobson said Ecotrust works collaboratively with the families of Howard and Peter Buffett, who are the supporters of the award. Ecotrust opens nominations by sending out information about the award to all of the First Nations in British Columbia, recognized tribes in Alaska and in the United States. The nomination packages are then sent to Ecotrust's reading panel, comprised of three Ecotrust staff and tribal leaders who review the packages. They then narrow the field down to five finalists, which in turn is forwarded to an all-Indigenous final jury panel that will then decide upon the awardees.

Jacobson noted that Pasco, chief of the Oregon Jack Creek Indian Band, "had a wonderful nomination package sent in on his behalf." Pasco serves as chair of the Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council (NNTC). He has participated in the Union of BC Indian Chiefs and served on two federal environmental review panels. He is also a member of the Fraser River Management Board, Credit Union Board, National Economic Development Program Board and BC Rail Board. Furthermore, he serves as president of both the Ashcroft Rancher's Association (BC Cattlemen's Association) and the Western Indian Rodeo and Exhibition Association.

Jacobson said the Buffett Award started as a three-year experiment, but the families of Howard and Peter Buffett have made a permanent commitment for the award to Ecotrust.

"Our goal really is to build the program into having more significant resources that can be put into direct use by growing a network of leaders and to grow the network of those leaders across the geography to both meet their community objectives," said Jacobson. "We want to create regional movement of change that reflects a longer term vision. Really, the Indigenous vision of sustainability is what it's all about. Creating a sense of place for people that they belong somewhere whether they are Indigenous or not."