Norma Kassi (born April 10, 1954) is a native Gwich'in from

Yukon Territory Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and a former member of the

Yukon Legislative Assembly The Yukon Legislative Assembly (french: Assemblée législative du Yukon) is the legislative assembly for Yukon, Canada. Unique among Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada, three territories, the Yukon Legislative Assembly is the only terri ...

and former chief of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation.Yukon Votes 2006: Vuntut Gwitchin
cbc.ca. She was awarded the

Goldman Environmental Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. ...

in 2002,Goldman Environmental Prize
Norma Kassi
(Retrieved on November 29, 2007) together with

Sarah James Sarah Agnes James (born 1946) is a native Neets'aii Gwich'in from Arctic Village, Alaska, USA, and a board member of the ''International Indian Treaty Council''. She was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2002,Goldman Environmental Prize" ...

and

Jonathon Solomon Jonathon Solomon (March 10, 1932 – July 13, 2006) was a native Gwich'in from Fort Yukon, Alaska, USA, and a member of the U.S. delegation to the International Porcupine Caribou Agreement between Canada and U.S. He served as the Traditional Ch ...

. They received the prize for their struggles for protection of the

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR or Arctic Refuge) is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States on traditional Gwich'in lands. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest national wildlife ...

(ANWR) from plans of oil exploration and drilling. Oil and gas exploration would disturb the life cycle of the

Porcupine caribou The Porcupine caribou ''(Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus'') is a herd or ecotype of barren-ground caribou, the subspecies of the reindeer or caribou found in Alaska, United States, and Yukon and the Northwest Territories, Canada. A recent revisio ...

, which has been the foundation for the Gwich'in culture for 20,000 years. In 2010 she was elected as Chief of the Vuntut Gwitchin.

References

1954 births Living people 20th-century First Nations people 21st-century First Nations people Canadian environmentalists Canadian women environmentalists First Nations politicians First Nations women in politics Gwich'in people Women MLAs in Yukon Yukon New Democratic Party MLAs Goldman Environmental Prize awardees 20th-century Canadian women politicians {{Yukon-politician-stub