Lorraine Netro
Lorraine Netro was born in Old Crow. She returned to the Yukon in 1999, after years spent outside the territory, and became involved in efforts to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. The refuge is the calving ground for the Porcupine Caribou Herd.1)
Lorraine served as deputy chief of the Vuntut Gwitchin and was elected twice as the NDP MLA for the Vuntut Gwitchin riding. She travelled across North America and visited Washington numerous times to speak about the importance of the Porcupine herd to her people.2)
In February 2021, United States President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement acknowledging the importance of the refuge and agreeing to work together to protect the calving grounds that are so invaluable to the Gwich’in and Inuvialuit peoples.3)
Loraine Netro received the 2021 Glen Davis Conservation Leadership prize, awarded by WWF-Canada and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), for her twenty-year contribution to conservation. The Elder stated that it is the Gwitchin way not to accept personal recognition and she accepted the award for her family, community, nation and all those who worked to protect the Sacred Lands, the animals, and the waters.4)