American Indian advocates John Echohawk and Billy Frank Jr., who spent decades fighting for Indians' legal rights and fishing rights, will be honored by the University of Colorado at Boulder's Center of the American West on Nov. 2.
The center will present Echohawk and Frank with its highest honor, the Wallace Stegner Award, at 7 p.m. in the University Memorial Center's Glenn Miller Ballroom. The event is free and open to the public and will be followed by a reception.
The evening will feature an interview and discussion of the two men's careers conducted by Patty Limerick, professor of history and environmental studies and chair of the CU-Boulder Center of the American West, and Charles Wilkinson, distinguished professor of law at CU-Boulder. Each recipient will receive a handmade certificate with a personalized inscription and a $1,500 cash award.
The Center of the American West presents the Wallace Stegner Award each year to an individual or individuals who have made a sustained contribution to the cultural identity of the West through the literature, art, history, lore or understanding of the West. Previous recipients include Terry Tempest Williams, John Nichols, N. Scott Momaday, Rudolfo Anaya, Vine Deloria Jr. and Alvin Josephy.
Echohawk, a Pawnee, is executive director of the renowned Native American Rights Fund in Boulder. He was the first graduate of the University of New Mexico's innovative program to train Indian lawyers and was a founding member of the American Indian Law Â鶹ÒùÔº Association while in law school. He has been NARF's executive director since 1977.
Echohawk has been recognized as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America by the National Law Journal since 1988 and has received numerous service awards and tributes for his leadership in Indian law. He serves on numerous national boards dealing with Indian affairs, natural resources and philanthropy.
Frank has spent much of his life advocating human rights for all people, particularly the Indian people of western Washington. A Nisqually tribal member, he grew up fishing for salmon and steelhead on the Nisqually River. He was on the front line when the battle over treaty-guaranteed Indian fishing rights erupted in the 1960s and 1970s. Frank's perseverance landed him in jail more than 40 times and helped guarantee Indian fishing rights when the "Boldt decision" was reached in the late 1970s.
Frank now advocates cooperation among groups rather than confrontation. As chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Frank has worked to achieve a number of key agreements between the tribes and various local, state and federal officials. These agreements have further strengthened treaty-guaranteed fishing rights and environmental protection laws.
Frank's struggles on behalf of Indians were the subject of a book written by Wilkinson titled, "Message's From Frank's Landing: A Story of Salmon, Treaties and the Indian Way," published in 2000.
The mission of the CU-Boulder Center of the American West is to explore the distinctive character and issues of the region and to help Westerners become well-informed, participating citizens in their communities. The center originated in a conversation between Limerick and Wilkinson in 1986 and is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
For more information call (303) 492-4879 or visit .