ABSTRACT
The events of March 24, 1989, when the Exxon Valdez tanker slammed into Bligh Reef, spewing more than 30 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound, changed my life. I decided to become a full-time community activist and an uncompromising “voice of reason.” On behalf of our Eyak people and also Eyak Corporation shareholders, I successfully worked through the legal process to preserve our ancestral rain forest and our subsistence and fishing way of life. Since then, I have continued working for social change, including having founded four not-for-profit organizations. And now we are organizing several for-profit sustainable and sensible businesses. The overarching goal is to permanently protect Alaska’s wild salmon habitat in the Prince William Sound and Copper River watersheds, to provide education and awareness, and to explore sustainable alternatives. We as individuals and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have to take action and work together to combat global climate change and save our planet.
