Yurok Tribe to Receive Prestigious UN Award in New York Tonight
Yurok Tribal Councilmembers Lana McCovey and Mindy Natt and Yurok General Counsel Amy Cordalis are in New York City to accept the United Nations Development Programme’s Equator Prize.
Yurok Tribe release:
Tonight, the Yurok Tribe will be one of the first two indigenous nations in the United States to receive the
United Nations Development Programme’s prestigious Equator Prize.
The award is an acknowledgement of the Tribe’s forward-looking, climate change mitigation work, which
merges Traditional Ecological Knowledge with western science to facilitate the restoration of healthy forests.
Rehabilitating biologically diverse woodland habitats is critical to resolving the climate crisis.
On the eve of the United Nations 74th General Assembly, Yurok Tribal Councilmembers Lana McCovey and
Mindy Natt will be representing the Tribe at the Equator Prize Award Ceremony, which is happening at the
iconic Town Hall Theater in New York City. A short film highlighting the Tribe’s cutting-edge forest
stewardship practices will be shown to the numerous, high-ranking government officials, international media
outlets and celebrities in attendance at the illustrious event.
“We are incredibly honored to accept the Equator Prize on behalf of the Yurok people,” said Yurok Tribal
Councilmember Lana McCovey. “Similar to Tribal nations all over the globe, our culture, quality of life, and
economy require intact forests to flourish.”
“The Yurok Tribe is proof positive that it is possible to live in harmony with the environment in the 21st
century,” added Councilmember Mindy Natt, who will be attending the UN’s 74th General Assembly. “As we
restore biodiversity to our forests, we are creating a landscape and a community that is resilient to climate
change.”
Yurok Tribal Councilmembers Lana McCovey and Mindy Natt will be representing the Tribe at the Equator Prize Award Ceremony, which is happening at the iconic Town Hall Theater in New York City.
The Equator Prize, created by the UNDP’s Equator Initiative, aims to acknowledge efforts to reduce poverty
through environmentally sound projects. The award ceremony begins at 8pm EST. This year’s 22 winners were
selected from a pool of 847 nominations across 127 countries. In addition to the recognition on the world
stage, each recipient will receive $10,000.
Residing along the Klamath River in far Northern California, the Yurok Tribe is the most populous Native
American nation in the state. For millennia, the Yurok people enjoyed an affluent and comfortable existence,
which was anchored by the Klamath’s bountiful salmon runs, the abundant game and edible plants in the expansive prairies adjacent to the river and prolific quantities seafood from the nearby ocean. The richness of
the region afforded the Tribe ample time to develop a complex system of governance, a thriving economy and
timeless artwork. More than 50 Yurok villages had access to the same immense wealth until the California Gold
Rush and ensuing genocide, which resulted in a 95 percent reduction in the tribal population and caused
significant damage to the natural environment in the Tribe’s ancestral territory. However, the Yurok people
persevered to overcome incredible obstacles to arrive at a positive place in the present.
Currently, the Tribe is in the middle of the most substantial growth period in modern times. For example, the
tribal government and Tribe-affiliated workforce recently swelled to more than 400 individuals, most of
whom are Yurok citizens. A large majority of the staff are involved in the types of natural resources
enhancement projects that elicited the commendation from the Equator Initiative.
The Tribe was one of the first participants in California’s cap and trade program and has dedicated a
signification swath to forest for carbon sequestration. With proceeds from the program, the Tribal Council
started recovering the Tribe’s 500,000-acre former territory. This summer, the Tribe celebrated the reacquisition
of approximately 60,000 acres of forest. The Yurok Forestry, Fisheries and Watershed Restoration
Departments are working to turn much of the newly acquired land into a salmon sanctuary and an old-growth
for ecosystem. This project will also improve wildlife populations as well as the availability of crucial cultural
resources, such as traditional basket-weaving materials and plant-based foods. Revenue generated from the
program also enabled the Tribe to recover approximately 2,000 regalia items. The ceremonial items are used in
the Tribe’s ceremonies, which aim to bring balance to the world.