Chickaloon members awarded

Chickaloon tribal members won two prominent awards this month.

Harvard's Kennedy School School of Government awarded Chickaloon $10,000 in recognition of the tribe's outstanding achievements. The award goes to the Ya Ne Dah Ah school.

Harvard's awards are given as part of its Honoring Nations program, which identifies, celebrates and shares exemplary tribal government programs among the more than 550 Indian nations in the U.S.

"It makes sense to shine a spotlight on tribal government practices so that others can learn from and replicate what's working across a spectrum of public policy concerns," said the program's executive director, Andrew Lee.

Of 80 tribes that applied, 16 were selected for awards. Eight of those finalists were selected for "high honors," and Chickaloon was one of them.

"It was really an honor to be recognized this way," said Donita Peter, Ya Ne Dah Ah education administrator. "This is going to be our seed money for our endowment fund for the school."

Peter said they applied to the program and were notified they were considered a semi-finalist last spring. A Harvard team came to visit Chickaloon in May. That team then made a presentation about the school and tribe to the program award committee, and Chickaloon representatives were invited to make a presentation at Bismark, N.D., on June 17 during the National Congress of American Indians.

"On the next day, they told us we were selected for high honors -- it was really a surprise," Peter said.

Patricia Wade, long active in Chickaloon tribal government, also was recently recognized. The Alaska Conservation Foundation Board of Trustees announced the 10 winners of the 2002 Conservation Awards, and Wade was recognized for her long-term contributions to the conservation movement in Alaska.

Wade won the Alaska Conservation Foundation Award for Alaska Native Writers on the Environment.

"The conservation of healthy, intact ecosystems is of critical importance to Alaska's economy and our quality of life. We applaud these men and women who made outstanding contributions to the protection of Alaska's extraordinary environment. Their work deserves to be acknowledged and celebrated because it benefits not only current generations, but future generations as well," said Deborah L. Williams, ACF's executive director.

A banquet honoring the award winners will be held Sept. 28 at the Campbell Creek Science Center. Tickets for the public are $15, which includes dinner and the awards presentation. There is no charge to attend the awards presentation only, which will begin at

7 p.m. Seats can be reserved by calling (907) 276-1917.