Ilarion Merculieff

Ilarion (Larry “Kuuyux”) Merculieff is an Indigenous messenger and teacher. He is one of the last generation of Aleuts of the Alaskan Pribilof Islands to be fully raised in the traditional way. Kuuyux, a name given once a generation, means extension, like an arm extending from a body. Living this destiny, Larry served 35 years as a community leader on St. Paul Island, his home. His work now extends internationally, as he facilitates the use of traditional ways of dialogue, decision-making and consensus building, and talks about Indigenous elder wisdom for modern times. Larry helped secure recognition of Alaska Native subsistence fishing rights, and to develop culturally- based adaptation strategies for the impact of climate change. 

Issues related to cultural and community wellness, traditional ways of living, elder wisdom, and the environment are close to his heart. He recently chaired the Indigenous knowledge sessions at the Global Summit of Indigenous Peoples on Climate Change attended by Indigenous representatives from 80 nations.

Larry was featured in National Wildlife magazine as an “American Hero”, having called national and international attention to major adverse changes in the Bering Sea ecosystem.

“We don’t have a word for sustainability because we live it.”

Location: Anchorage, Alaska, USA

Organizations: Indigenous Peoples’ Council for Marine Mammals, Global Center for Indigenous Leadership & Lifeways; Senior Advisor to the World Wilderness Congress and advisor to the Native Lands and Wilderness Council. 

Books:   Stop Talking: Indigenous Ways of Teaching and Learning and Difficult Dialogues in Higher Education; Wisdomkeeper: One Man’s Journey to Honor the Untold Story of the Unangan People; Ilarion is featured as one of ten Native Americans in the book Native American Men of Courage by Second Story Press. Ilarion’s co-authored book, Aleut Wisdom: Stories of an Aleut Messenger

Websites:
1) Native Perspectives on Sustainability
2) Global Center for Indigenous Leadership
3) Wisdom Weavers 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Unangan.guy, https://www.facebook.com/wisdomweaversoftheworld
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wisdomweaversoftheworld/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilarion-larry-merculieff-15b6429/, https://www.linkedin.com/company/wisdom-weavers/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lmerculieff3, https://twitter.com/Wisdom_Weavers

Video 1: Wisdom Weavers
Video 2: Interview at Google
Video 3: TED Talk