By Sean Arithson with contribution by Nicole Donaghy
This past Saturday, Dakota Resource Council held their 37th Annual Meeting at the Bismarck AmVets Club. Each year, DRC members plan on what they will be working on in the coming year, but they also take time to recognize the hard work of the year prior.
Since 2012, DRC has given the Art and Grace Link Leadership Award to members doing outstanding volunteerism work. Longtime DRC member Terrence Kardong won the first award in 2012, for his many years of work with DRC. Gene Wirtz, won the award in 2013, due to his instrumental work on saving his community from being a home to a radioactive waste dump.
This year, Dakota Resource Council gave the award to Theodora Bird Bear. She has given so much time and put in so much hard work into making North Dakota a better place for our future generations. Throughout the year, Theodora has spent time preparing statements and testifying on new rules for bomb trains, flaring and radioactive waste. She has been a leader and a voice for not only DRC members, but for all North Dakotans.
DRC would like to once again congratulate Theodora on the Art and Grace Link Leadership Award and we think that Art Link would be proud that Theodora is doing her part on making sure that North Dakota survives the Bakken Oil Boom.
“There’s a lot of potential here for people to have a voice in the process to stand up and protect their community. It can happen. It takes courage to do it for some folks. I think a lot of folks in western North Dakota have a connection to the earth and that’s important to them. You gotta fight for it, I don’t care what the odds are against you. If you believe in something, you go for it all the way, you fight for it!”
-Theodora Bird Bear
One Comment
Theodora Bird Bear is the definition of public service and humility. She’s an inspiration to anyone whose seen her step forward in public testimony as she silences the logical fallacies of industry PR reps with logic, evidence and a disquieting calm. Theodora is among the articulate elders of the Three Affiliated Tribes on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation who speak for generations past, present and future to defend the earth, sky and water.