The Ecotrust Award for Indigenous Leadership: Guidelines

There is no 2008 Ecotrust Leadership Award offered. These documents are for reference only as to the details of a nomination. The specific templates may change and will be posted when 2009 deadlines are announced.

Here are the materials you'll need to nominate someone:

Ecotrust Award Nomination Contact Form (32kb doc)
Ecotrust Award Nomination Letter Template (31kb doc)
Make Your Nomination Strong (40kb doc)
Map: Pacific Salmon Territory of North America (703kb pdf)
Ecotrust Award Final Jury Panel 2007
Vision Statement (5kb pdf)

Peter and Howard Buffett Families founded the leadership award to honor outstanding individual leaders in the indigenous communities of Oregon, Washington, California, Western Montana, Nevada, Idaho, Alaska and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. The Ecotrust Award is a recognition program with an endowed cash award of $25,000. This award recognizes an individual who demonstrates durable qualities of leadership for improvement of the social, economic, political and environmental conditions in his or her homelands. Four honorees receive a $5,000 cash award. The recipients are required to attend the Honoring Ceremony in Portland, Oregon, in November of each year.

Who is eligible?

Individuals are eligible if they are First Nation or tribal members, over 35 years of age, and work, or have worked, with an indigenous organization or community within the states of Oregon, Washington, California, Western Montana, Nevada, Idaho, Alaska or the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. We refer to the major part of this geography as the Pacific salmon territory of North America. The nomination is stronger if the individual has support of his or her tribes or work organization. The nominee is someone who is working on issues which serve to improve the community's resource base, cultural base, economic security or health and wellness. Previous finalists of the award are ineligible with the exception of the finalists of 2001–2002 who did not receive a cash award, but Ecotrust requires nominators submit a new packet of materials. Current employees of Ecotrust and its affiliates are ineligible.

Specific criteria:

Enrolled tribal members, Native corporation members, or someone recognized by a First Nation or tribe are eligible to receive this award. Nomination of un-enrolled members of a tribe or First Nation must provide a letter of endorsement and terms of acceptance of this individual into their community, such as Clanship adoptions or lineal descent of family who are members of the community.
The nominee is someone who has been living or working on issues in his or her community related to conservation-based development—the crossroad of conservation of resources, culture, economic security, or health and wellness.
The nominee's project or goal is of importance to his or her community and to the region as a whole. The individual should demonstrate the support of a tribal government, clan or longhouse for his/her work. Ecotrust respects tribal authority. A letter of support or tribal newspaper article describing the person's relationship with the tribe will suffice in this instance.

What qualities are valued in this award?
By reaffirming tribal values in leadership roles, he or she makes positive contributions to the world through service to communities, and often cultivates new leadership in the process. This individual affirms traditional values and knowledge of the systems in the natural environment. His or her actions have strengthened inter-generational knowledge transference and reinforce experiences of continuity and commitment to their community. A leader of merit is an individual well connected to indigenous and non-indigenous regional and national leadership. Such a leader also possesses a global perspective resulting from the experience of exchange, dialogue, and negotiation with a variety of peoples. A leader transfers and redistributes the power of leadership and appropriate action for constituents, as well as, reserves authority if needed. A leader is wise.

Core Values
The Reading and Jury Panels will use these values in the determination of the finalists and awardee.

Affirms traditional cultural values, traditional knowledge systems and natural environment;
Strengthens continuity of intergenerational knowledge and experiences;
Works for enrichment or increases understanding of conservation of natural resources, culture and economic security;
Possesses a global perspective and is well connected with indigenous and non-indigenous, regional, and national leadership.

How may the fellowship be used?
This award is a cash resource for leadership, while providing Ecotrust with an opportunity to expand its knowledge of and experience with these communities. There is potential to share information, learn and encourage mutual enrichment. The award may be used by the recipient for activities in any combination of the following areas:

Professional development and/or skills enrichment
Program or organizational investigation and development
Personal research and associated expenses
Traditional activity or ceremonial participation

At the core of this program is a dialogue about the importance of what is presently happening in Indigenous communities, and how others can support these communities and core values.

What will the fellow need to provide Ecotrust?

The one-year fellowship does not represent a grantor-grantee relationship. It is a relaxed mutual exploration of the awardee's topic and activity. Ecotrust and the fellow will begin with an agreement in principle for the year of the fellowship, and statement of expectations of positive outcome. Completion of the fellowship concludes with a one to two page statement of use of funds written to Ecotrust, explaining how the award made a difference in the life and community of the individual.

What happens in the selection process?

Ecotrust accepts nominations all year but announces the specific nomination deadline and award ceremony date at the end of the first quarter of the year. A Reading Panel, which includes three Ecotrust staff people and at least three outside readers, read all nominations. A majority of the Reading Panel will always be Native people ideally from various locations in the bioregion, and use a consensual process to select five nominations to forward to the Final Jury. The Final Jury is comprised of imminent indigenous leaders who agree to make the final selection of the awardee and guide the program's processes and policy. The present Final Jury members are Dalee Sambo Dorough (Inupiaq), Alan Parker (Chippewa-Cree), Chief Leah George-Wilson (Tsleil Waututh Nation), Kathy Hill (Klamath Tribes), Antone Minthorn (Cayuse), and non-voting members, Ecotrust founder and president, Spencer B. Beebe and program director, Elizabeth Woody (Navajo-Warm Springs-Wasco-Yakama).

Ecotrust's Natural Capital Center in Portland, Oregon, is the site for the award ceremony and attendance is expected of the five finalists (one awardee and four honorees). Ecotrust covers related expenses of travel and lodging.

For the nominator

Please submit one nomination letter and one nomination contact form for each nomination. Formats of both are online through the links below or you may call or write the program director for materials or assistance. The nomination letter is critical and has the greatest persuasive influence in the review selection. It is stressed the letter follow the recommended format as it increases the readability of the packet. The nomination contact form assists the staff in keeping in contact with the nominator and nominee, if there are any questions. There is a letter template to assist in the format and content to increase the chances of the reader's understanding of the nominee's superb qualities. The nomination should describe the candidate's accomplishments in detail, using the questions in the template as a guide.

There is no 2008 deadline for the Ecotrust Award for Indigenous Leadership as the program is in review of its first seven years and planning for the future. Ecotrust encourages that nominations be sent to Elizabeth Woody, Director of Indigenous Leadership, for review and assistance. You may call her at 503.467.0751, or her.

Nominations or questions may be directed to:

Elizabeth Woody (Navajo-Warm Springs-Wasco-Yakama)
Director of the Indigenous Leadership Program
721 NW Ninth Avenue, Suite 200
Portland, Oregon 97209
telephone: 503.467.0751
fax: 503.222.1517