Dune Lankard canoeing on Sheridan Glacier Lake, Alaska, observing the glacier retreating.
Dune Lankard
M
arch 24, 1989 is a day that changed the course of my life forever. I was a full time commercial fisherman when the Exxon Valdez tanker hit Bligh Reef and spewed tens of millions of gallons of crude oil into the waters and onto the pristine beaches of my ancestral homeland in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. Since then, Dune Lankard, I have referred to that day as “The founder of Native Day the Water Died.” It wasn’t just Conservancy. the waters that were impacted. Everything was forever changed for the Eyak people—from our way of life as fishermen to our dreams for the future. In the midst of that oil spill crisis, something inside of me came alive and I clearly saw what I needed to do: I had to become louder than everything else, yet remain a voice of reason so people would listen. I have since dedicated my life to defending my people and our land and protecting endangered habitats. We, Eyaks, are wild Copper River Salmon Peoples, along with the upriver Ahtna Athabaskan Peoples. We are the wild Copper River Salmon. We are also the traditional ancestral stewards of the Copper River Delta region. As a result of our tireless preservation work to halt clearcutting by Alaska Native Corporations in the Exxon spill zone, more than 1,000,000 acres between our beloved Copper River Delta and 1,500 miles across the Pacific Ocean to Kodiak are permanently protected from development. I am also deeply invested in reclaiming the dreams and aspirations we once had and which have been so negatively affected not only by that one single disastrous day, but also
22 • www. cs. org
Healing Our Waters, Healing Ourselves Through a Sustainable Economy by the larger system of colonization that continues to impact the way of life of Indigenous Peoples throughout the Americas. I founded Native Conservancy with exactly that vision in mind: to strengthen our inherent rights of sovereignty, subsistence, and spirituality while building resilient communities and regenerative economies that safeguard our lands, waters, and cultural ways of life. When you look at our current economic and political systems and the bigger picture of climate change, including ocean acidification and warming seas, it is easy to become overwhelmed and feel hopeless. Yet, this is not the way the story ends. This is only the beginning. Through stepping up, finding our courage, leaning in with strategic collaboration, networking, building community, and directing our energy (time, money, love), we can change the current trajectory of the planet and build a healthier, more just, robust, and equitable future for our next generations. Our approach to finding solutions is holistic and rooted in our traditional values. It is not just about re-molding the current dysfunctional systems that perpetuate social and economic inequities. It is about reimagining what a just and fair economy can and should be. That is why I founded the Native Conservancy and why my current work is focused on a regenerative and equitable sovereignty model. Key objectives of our nonprofit work are to visualize and manifest the future with the next generation so they can do better than we did. Our current work also focuses on changing our relationship with our food sources and bringing a resilient, regenerative, and restorative economic model to Indigenous communities. One of the ways we are achieving this goal is through kelp All photos by Ayse Gursoz.
