The Institute for Democratic Education and Culture

P.O. Box 22748

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Phone: (510) 601-0182

Fax: (510) 601-0183

info@speakoutnow.org

www.speakoutnow.org

WinonaLaDuke

Winona LaDuke (Anishinaabe) is an internationally acclaimed

author, orator and activist. A graduate of Harvard and Antioch

Universities with advanced degrees in rural economic

development, LaDuke has devoted her life to protecting the

lands and life ways of Native communities.

LaDuke is a founder and Co-Director of Honor the Earth, a

national advocacy group encouraging public support and

funding for native environmental groups. With Honor the Earth,

she works nationally and internationally on issues of climate

change, renewable energy, sustainable development, food

systems and environmental justice.

In her own community in northern Minnesota, she is the founder of the White Earth Land

Recovery Project, one of the largest reservation based non-profit organizations in the country,

and a leader on the issues of culturally-based sustainable development strategies, renewable

energy and food systems. In this work, LaDuke also works to protect Indigenous plants and

heritage foods from patenting and genetic engineering.

In 1994, Time magazine named her one of America’s fifty most promising leaders under forty

years of age, and in 1997 LaDuke was named Ms. Magazine Woman of the Year.

Other honors include the Reebok Human Rights Award, the Thomas Merton Award, the Ann

Bancroft Award, the Global Green Award, and the prestigious International Slow Food Award

for working to protect wild rice and local biodiversity. In 2007, LaDuke was inducted into the

National Women’s Hall of Fame.

In addition to numerous articles, LaDuke is the author of a number of non-fiction titles including

All Our Relations, The Winona LaDuke Reader, Recovering the Sacred: the Power of Naming

and Claiming, Food is Medicine: Recovering Traditional Foods to Heal the People and her

latest, The Militarization of Indian Country. She has also penned a work of fiction, Last

Standing Woman, and a children's book, In the Sugarbush.

LaDuke served as Ralph Nader’s vice-presidential running mate on the Green Party ticket in the

1996 and 2000 presidential elections.

Outspoken, engaging, and unflaggingly dedicated to matters of ecological sustainability,

Winona LaDuke is a powerful speaker who inspires her audiences to action and engagement.

Winona LaDuke Speech Topics ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

• Building a Green Economy: Indigenous Strategies for a Sustainable Future

• The Next Energy Economy: Moving Forward with Grassroots Strategies to Mitigate Global Climate ChangeEnergy,

• Climate Change, Green Jobs and the Future of our Communities Environmental Justice: Diversity and Ecology

• Environmental Justice from a Native Perspective

The US is the largest source of greenhouse gases in the world, and influences

international policy. It turns out that Native American communities have the potential to

generate up to one half of present US electrical consumption through producing power

from the wind. This is the alternative to both military intervention into oil rich countries,

and represents the potential for ecological sustainability. In recent years, LaDuke has

been involved in moving tribal communities towards wind and alternative energy

systems, and working with tribal and state governments to voluntarily meet the

conditions of the Kyoto accord. She has published several articles on this topic and her

lively and engaging presentations offer alternatives and a vision for the future.

FOOD ISSUES

• Food, Biopiracy and the Future

• Seed Sovereignty: Who Owns the Seeds of the World, Bio-Piracy,

Genetic Engineering and Indigenous Peoples

• Food Security in a Time of Climate Change

Our food economies have become increasingly dependent upon the industrialized food economy. In fact, US food travels an average of 1,546 miles from producer to the table. Petroleum dependent agriculture means we now use 10 to 15 calories of fossil fuels to create one calorie of food. Although food accounts for only 17% of the US energy budget, it is the single largest consumer of energy in the US economy. The solutions are often in Indigenous communities. In 2003, LaDuke’s organization, the White Earth Land Recovery Project, won the International Slow Food Award for their work to preserve wild rice from genetic manipulation and patenting. This work exemplifies international questions on patenting and genetic modification of foods and sees, and indeed is part of the global movement towards preservation of food security.

MULTICULTURAL ISSUES

• Creating a MultiCultural Democracy: Religion, Culture, and Identity

in America

• A New American Identity for the Millennium

• Recovering the Sacred: Religion, Faith and the Land from a Native

Perspective

The foundations of the US constitution and the government include teachings from the

Iroquois confederacy, the oldest democracy in the world. Many of these teachings,

including the importance of women’s role in governance, and teachings considering the

impact on the seventh generation, however, were omitted. In addition, while this country

was founded on principles of freedom of religion, there has been no corresponding

freedom of religion for Native Americans. In 1978, Congress passed the Native

American Religious Freedom Act, legalizing many forms of Native religion, yet today,

many Native spiritual practices continue to be devastated by destruction of the most

sacred places for these religious systems.

OTHER TOPICS INCLUDE:

• Women, Feminism and Politics

• The Militarization of Indian Country

• Honor the Earth: Our Native American Legacy

• Politics, Motherhood and Environmental Justice

• Activism, Justice and Future Generations

Books by Winona LaDuke

The Militarization of Indian Country (2011) With Sean Cruz The Militarization of Indian Country addresses the impact of the U.S.

Military on Native peoples, lands and cultures. From military use of

Native names to outright poisoning of Native peoples for military

testing, the US military’s impact on Indian Country is unparalleled and

as is evidenced by recent events, ongoing. LaDuke’s book delves into

the parallels of today’s military with the past and America’s fascination

with Native Americans and their culture while also examining the wide

scale taking and toxification of Native lands. The book examines

decades of nuclear testing, weapons testing, chemical weapons storage,

and bombing of Native American lands. Also discussed is the military impact on Native

communities in terms of cultural change associated with militarization, and the fact that Native

America has the highest proportion of living veterans as well as the highest levels of enlistment.

Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming (South End Press 2005) Using a wealth of Native American research and hundreds of

interviews with indigenous scholars and activists, LaDuke examines

the connections between sacred objects and the sacred bodies of her

people - past, present and future-focusing more closely on the

conditions under which traditional beliefs can best be practiced.

Describing the plentiful gaps between mainstream and indigenous

thinking, she probes the paradoxes that abound for the native people of

the Americas.

Food is Medicine: Recovering Traditional Foods to Heal the People With Sarah Alexander (Honor the Earth and the White Earth Land Recovery Project 2004)

This book reviews issues ranging from Navajo livestock

reduction and genetic modification to the impact of

industrialized food production on Native America’s health

and ecology. With profiles of Native communities

working to recover their food systems, Food is Medicine also documents Indigenous

communities’ strategies to address diabetes and the loss of biodiversity through the restoration

of traditional agriculture. The survival of not just Native communities but of all people is linked

to the destiny of our food and our ability to feed ourselves. Food is Medicine not only for the

body but also for the soul, and traditional foods and agriculture are key to restoring and

maintaining good health and healthy ecosystems in our communities.

The Winona LaDuke Reader: A Collection of Essential Writings

(Voyageur Press 2002) This reader compiles 43 speeches, articles, fiction excerpts, and

poems (1983-2001) on Native American environmentalism, Native

traditions, women's, and political issues.

Includes a foreword by Ralph Nader who was LaDuke's Green Party

presidential running mate

All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life (South End Press 1999) This eagerly awaited book is a thoughtful and in-depth account of

Native resistance to environ-mental and cultural degradation.

LaDuke's unique understanding of Native ideas and people is born

from long years of experience, and her analysis is deepened with

inspiring testimonies by local Native activists sharing the struggle for

survival.

Last Standing Woman (Voyageur Press 1999) A powerful and poignant novel tracing the lives of seven

generations of Anishinaabe (Ojbwe/Chippewa) women which

skillfully intertwines social history, oral myth and character study.

Our Manoomin, Our Life (WELRP) Learn more about the Anishinaabe struggle to preserve

natural wild rice, as you support our work. A collabortive

effort of Winona LaDuke and Brian Carlson.

The Sugarbush Children's Book (WELRP 1997) Written by Winona LaDuke and daughter, Waseyabin

Kapashesit, this is a first hand educational look at the

sugar bush, for children.

Winona LaDuke TECH AND HOSPITALITY NEEDS

1. Accommodations should include a non-smoking room at a clean, comfortable hotel

reasonably close to the engagement location.

2. For lectures and presentations, Sponsor should provide a podium and water. Ms.

LaDuke prefers a standing microphone or one that is attached to the podium.

3. Sponsor will provide all ground transportation (between airport – hotel – engagement)

unless specified that Ms. LaDuke will be driving a rental car. In that case, clear

directions are greatly appreciated.

4. Ms. LaDuke sometimes travels with her child(ren) so in those cases, there will be no

extra costs involved but she will need a hotel room with two beds and ground

transportation that can accommodate more than one person. SpeakOut can let you

know the specifics if you do bring Ms. LaDuke to speak.

5. Ms. LaDuke does not have any dietary restrictions.

6. Any and all activities in which Winona LaDuke participates must be cleared in

advance by SpeakOut (class visits, receptions, dinners, book signings, etc).

7. In some cases, Ms. LaDuke brings books and merchandise to sell as well as brochures

from her organization about their current efforts. Ideally, a table should be provided

for these materials as well as someone to help out with their distribution.

8. No portion of Ms. LaDuke’s address or related events should be filmed, videotaped,

or otherwise recorded without authorization (it is usually fine for educational

purposes).

9. Any questions or concerns about these requests should be directed to SpeakOut prior

to the engagement.

Winona LaDuke CV

Education Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (BA 1982), Native Economic Development. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, (1983), Department of Urban Studies, Community Fellows Program. Antioch University, Yellow Springs, OH (MA 1989), Rural Development.

Honorary Degrees Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Peter, MN, (2001), Honorary Doctorate of Arts. University of Minnesota, Duluth, (2002), Honorary Doctorate of Law.

Work 1) Executive Director of Honor the Earth, a national Native directed organization that provides funding and advocacy for frontline Native environmental work. (1998-present)

2) Program Director of Environmental Program, Seventh Generation Fund, a national Native Foundation supporting grassroots Native initiatives in environmental justice and community restoration. (1994 to l996) 3) Founding Director of White Earth Land Recovery Project, White Earth, MN (1989-present). Coordinating development of an overall land acquisition, negotiations and consolidation program for the White Earth Band of Anishinaabeg of the White Earth Reservation. 4) Development Director, Anishinaabe Akeeng, White Earth, MN (1983 to 1988). Responsible for financial planning, fundraising, and development in a community-based land rights organization, as well as close work on the litigation and negotiations strategy for three major federal lawsuits. 5) Development Consultant, Ikwe Community Education Project, Osage, MN (1985 to 1989). Developed a community based wild rice and handcrafts marketing collective, serving 20 below-income Native craftswomen, and 50 wild rice harvesters. Responsible for fundraising, program development, and national outreach. 6) Executive Director, Circle of Life School, White Earth, MN (1982). Responsible for administration and management of a tribally controlled K-12 school. 7) Assistant to the Director, Harvard Foundation, Cambridge, MA (1981). Assisted in development of programs for improved race relation on campus. 8) Write/Outreach Coordinator, New Mexican Indian Environmental Education Project, Albuquerque, NM (1980). Worked with a team of Dine people to develop and disseminate materials on the environmental, social, and other issues involved in natural resource development. 9) Legal Research/Writer, National Indian Youth Council, Albuquerque, NM (1978-1979). Legal research and community outreach on environmental issues associated with coal and uranium mining in the Navajo Nation.

Publications The Militarization of Indian Country, (with Sean Cruz) Honor the Earth, 2011 Recovering the Sacred, South End Press 2005 Food is Medicine (with Sara Alexander), Honor the Earth, 2004 Winona LaDuke Reader Voyager Press, 2002 All Our Relations. South End Press 1999 In the Sugarbush, (children’s). Rigby Communications 1997 Last Standing Woman. Voyager Press. 1997 Have also published extensively on issues of Native economic development, environmental issues, and legal issues related to Native affairs. Published in magazines including: Business and Society Review, Cultural Survival Quarterly, Indian Country Today, Insurgent Sociologist, Radcliffe Quarterly, Union of Radical Political Economics, Utne Reader Magazine (News from Indian Country, Akwekon Journal), Sierra Magazine, Orion Magazine, and Patagonia.

Selected Publications (Articles and Chapters) “Like Tributaries to a River”, Sierra Magazine. Fall 1996 “Traditional Ecological Knowledge”, in University of Colorado Journal of Environmental and International Law. Spring 1994. “Native America, The Political Economy of Radioactive Colonialism”, Insurgent Sociologist, Vol 13, Spring 1986. The Council of Energy Resource Tribes in “Native Americans and Energy Development II, (Joseph Jorgenson, Ed.), Anthropology Resource Center, Cambridge, MA, 1981. “The Political Economy of Radioactive Colonization”, Union of Radical Political Economists, Spring 1979.

Research Legal research in preparation for litigation in cases including the Consolidation Coal Strip Mine at Burnham, New Mexico, the Churchrock Uranium Mine at Gallup, New Mexico, the Mount Taylor Uranium Mine and other coal and uranium mines in the Four Corners are of the United States. Research on environmental, hydrological, social, and economic impact in support of attorneys at the National Indian Youth Council, and subsequently at the New Mexico Indian Environmental Education Project. Preparation of interventions into environmental impact assessments including Makoti Refinery (Three Affiliated Tribes). Legal research for the Manypenny Vs. US Fineday Vs. US and Littlewolf US cases involving title claims in the White Earth Indian Reservation. Subsequent work on the constitutionality of the White Earth Land Settlement Act with the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York, and litigation in the Littlewolf Vs. US case. “Housing development initiatives: Implication of Third World Experiences for Indigenous Peoples in North America”, research monograph prepared for the Seventh Generation Fund, a North American philanthropic and technical assistance foundation, 1990.

Expert Testimony Non-governmental Organization Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Peoples of the Western Hemisphere, United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, September 1997. Expert Testimony in Economic Commission in the Exploitation of Natural Resources of Indigenous Peoples of North America and the Impact of this Exploitation, Rapporteur of Commission. Commission on Human Rights, United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, February 1979. Preparation of Expert Testimony on the Human Rights Violations caused to Indigenous Populations by Exploitation of Natural Resources within their Territories. Testimony presented by the International Indian Treaty Council, Non-Governmental Organization at the United Nations. Non-Governmental Organization Conference on the Indigenous Peoples and their Land, United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, September 1981. Expert Testimony in Economic Commission on the Impact of Energy Development on Indigenous Population of the Southwestern United States, with particular emphasis on Uranium and the Coal Exploitation. Rapporteur of the Commission. International Council of Indigenous Women, Third International Conference, Karasjok, Norway, Samiland, August, 1990. Expert Testimony on the Impact of Hydro Electric and other Energy Development on the Status and Human Rights of Indigenous Women. Member of the International Coordinating Committee and interim Directorate. UN Conference on status of Women, Beijing, China, September 1995, Opening Plenary speech at Northern Europe Conference.

Lectures (selected) Duke University, Harvard University, Smith College, Dartmouth College, London Polytechnic Institute, University of Colorado, University of Iowa, University of Scotland (Edinburgh), Saskatchewan Native Women’s Association, OXFAM Hunger Banquet, Stanford University, UN Conference on Status of Women, Beijing, China (September 1995), Minnesota NGO Conference.

Professorships Wilberta and Raymond Savage Visiting Professor of International Affairs, University of Oregon, Eugene, 1993 (spring). Two classes: Indigenous Human Rights and Indigenous Economics. Schumacher College, December 1996, Native Environmentalist and Development, England (Seminar). University of Minnesota, 1997, 1998. (Native People and Environment) Bemidji State.

Fellowships and Awards National Women’s Hall of Fame 2007 Bush Fellowship 1999 Global Green Millennium Award 1998 Ann Bancroft Award for Women Leadership 1997 BIHA Women of Color Community Service Award 1997 Ms. Woman of the Year (with the Indigo Girls) l997 Thomas Merton Award 1996 Bannerman Fellowship 1991 Rural Development Leadership Network 1986-1989 Reebok Human Rights Award 1988

Newberry Library-Frances Allen Fellowship 1986 Field Foundation Fellow 1985-1986 National Endowment for the Humanities 1983 Harvard University, Institute of Politics 1978

Other Interests Muskrat Coffee Company- owner and head of tasting. Trustee: The Christensen Fund, Palo Alto, CA. ( 2006- present) Advisory Board Member: Trust for Public Lands, Indian Lands Program, Portland, OR. Past- Publisher: Indigenous Woman Magazine, a bi-annual journal focused on the issues of Native Women Vice-Presidential Candidate : Green Party with Ralph Nader, 1996 and 2000 Presidential Election. Board member: Greenpeace, USA, an International Environmental Organization, 1991-1997. Co-chairperson, Indigenous Women’s Network, 1989, a continental network of grassroots Indigenous Women organizers and community workers. Representative: International Indian Treaty Council, 1977-1980, representing the IITC at two NGO conferences at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on issues of resource development in Indigenous communities.

Personal Information Mother of three children Enrolled member, Mississippi Band, White Earth Reservation, MN