A Native American activist, economist and writer, Winona LaDuke spoke at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Sept.,”The earth is always changing, for better or for worse, because of humans. The issues that plague our world are present and widely discussed by such activists as Winona LaDuke, who has dedicated her life to ensure the preservation of our environment.
An American Indian activist, economist and writer, Winona LaDuke spoke at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Sept. 11 at the Fireside Lounge. Her speech, "Indigenous Thinking on Sustainability, the Military and the Environment" touched on deconstructing the American empire that, LaDuke said, relies on over-consumption of goods like energy, petroleum, food and other dwindling resources.
"It takes prayer, tenacity, hard work and intelligence to be an activist," said LaDuke during her speech.
She also spoke of the monoculture of America — how colonization "digested" the culture of American Indians. LaDuke encouraged American Indian tribes to resist the development of coal mines, dams and nuclear dumpsites in reservation territories.
"I read one of LaDuke's books, 'All Our Relations,' in my Native American history class and it was just incredible. I had to come hear her speech because her novel has made such an impact on my life," said Erin Donovan, a sophomore at UWM who attended the speech.
Currently, LaDuke is the program director of the Honor the Earth Fund and the founding director for White Earth Land Recovery Project, where she works to raise public support and create funding for environmental groups.
The main goals of these programs are to preserve the land, culture and environment of American Indians as well as to restore land lost to the government back to American Indians reservations. LaDuke also educates people about their American Indian past and current environmental problems.
Under her guidance, these programs have accomplished such feats as building the first wind generator on the White Earth Reservation, the beginning of its energy plan. This supplies power not only to the reservation but also to surrounding cities. The reservation also purchased a school to further community education and continue to organically grow substantial crops, such as wild rice.
"Based on the idea that local people can make a difference, the White Earth Land Recovery Project, local farms and the White Earth Tribal Council are looking at the environmental, cultural and economic options posed in energy choices," said LaDuke in her essay entitled Alternative Energy/Wind Power.
A former board member of Greenpeace USA, LaDuke ran for vice president of the United States as the nominee for the Green Party in 1996 and 2000. Before this, LaDuke became involved in the Indigenous Women's Network, where she currently is a co-chair.
Living on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota, LaDuke is a graduate of Harvard and Antioch Universities. In 1998, Ms. Magazine named her Woman of the Year for her involvement with the Honor the Earth program and she was awarded the Reebok Human Rights Award, with which she founded the White Earth Land Recovery Project.
The event at UWM was sponsored by the American Indian Student Association, Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society and the Student Labor Action Coalition.
Serena Cisneros, treasurer of the American Indian Student Association at UWM, said "[LaDuke] is a really powerful native woman who is a great role model. She is from the same tribe as me so it is remarkable that someone cares so much and has made such a difference."
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