Ilarion Merculief – Global Center for Indigenous Leadership and Lifeways
Ilarion (Larry) Merculieff has almost four decades of experience serving his people, the Unangan (Aleut people) of the Pribilof Islands and other Native peoples in a number of capacities. His reach has been broad and varied—a few of the positions he’s held include: City Manager of St. Paul Island, Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development, President and CEO of Tanadgusix Corporation, Chairman of the Board of The Aleut Corporation, and General Manager of the Central Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association (one of the six Community Development Quota groups created by Congress to receive fish allocations in Alaska).
From 2000–2003, Merculieff served as the Director of the Department of Public Policy and Advocacy in the Rural Alaska Community Action Program. As Director, Merculieff helped to organize and lead the largest subsistence rights march in Alaska’s history and emceed the subsistence rally after the march. The march was instrumental in protecting Alaska Native subsistence rights, which were legally contested by the State of Alaska, to fish for salmon along Alaska’s rivers. He also successfully led a four-year effort to gain federal and state recognition of Alaska Native subsistence rights to catch and eat halibut throughout coastal Alaska.
Merculieff is co-founder and former chairman of the Alaska Indigenous Council on Marine Mammals; former chairman of the Nature Conservancy, Alaska chapter; former co-director of the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society, Alaska chapter; as well as co-founder of the International Bering Sea Forum, the Alaska Forum on the Environment, and the Alaska Oceans Network. He also chaired the Indigenous Knowledge sessions in the UN sponsored Global Summit of Indigenous Peoples on Climate change.
In 2004, he received the Alaska Native Writers on the Environment Award from the Alaska Conservation Foundation, the Rasmuson Foundation Award for Creative Nonfiction in 2006, the Buffet Finalist Award for Indigenous Leadership, the Alaska Forum on the Environment Environmental Excellence Award for lifetime achievement in 2007 and the Wisdom Fellowship Award from the Sacred Fire Foundation in 2017.
Close to Merculieff’s heart are issues related to cultural and community wellness, traditional ways of living, Elder wisdom, and the environment. Having had a traditional upbringing, Merculieff has been, and continues to be, a strong voice advocating the meaningful application of traditional knowledge and wisdom obtained from Elders in Alaska and throughout the world when dealing with modern day challenges. Merculieff has shared Elder wisdom locally, nationally, and internationally, and his writings and interviews have appeared in such publications as the Winds of Change, YES, Red Ink, Alaska Geographic, Smithsonian, National Geographic, First Alaskans Magazine, and Kindred Spirits. Merculieff was featured in National Wildlife an “American Hero”, having called national and international attention to major adverse changes in the Bering Sea ecosystem.
Merculieff is a senior advisor to the WILD Foundation which oversees the World Wilderness Congress and his current project is called Wisdom Weavers of the World (www.wisdomweavers.world). This project will produce messages of Elders from throughout the world in video and messages of the Elders for social media about what we need to do now.
Anchorage, Alaska
USA
Website: http://www.gcill.org
Workshop(s)
Workshop 1: The Real Human Being: What We Are Asked to do Now for Mother Earth
This workshop focused on the qualities of a Real Human Being in dealing with the daunting challenges we face today and what we must do now.
