The Orutsararmiut Traditional Native Council (ONC), a federally recognized Tribe based in Bethel, is one of the Tribes challenging the Donlin Gold project in court. In this presentation Gloria Simeon, Robert Hoffman and Mary Herrera-Matthias discussed why ONC is opposed to Donlin and ONC's concerns with the proposed mine. The presentation was followed by a question and answer period. The episode was recorded on January 12th, 2022.

Gloria Simeon
Member - Orutsaramiut Traditional Native Council

I was born and raised in Alaska. I am an Alaskan Native, of both Dene’ and Yup’ik descent. My European ancestry is English and a solid bit of Scottish blood attributed to my biological father. As I mentioned, I was raised at a time when it was not cool to be a Native. I am blessed in so many ways that I had a borrow Grandma that lived close to the earth and her ties to the language, culture and traditions were strong and unbreakable. She shared, I have come to believe, enough to give me what I needed to have those connections to grow and give me strength and balance in my life also.

My real maternal grandmother died when my mother was a small child and she was raised by her father's oldest sister. We are a very large family. One of many other large families of what I call the oligarchies of the non-native men who came in search of gold or other opportunities. They married into the Native community and created their little settlements along the Kuskokwim River. It is that Native connection that has formed and shaped the woman I have become and still am becoming. 

Teachers appeared when I was ready to explore the deep desire and need to know more about our traditional plants and their medicinal powers. Opportunities presented themselves that gave depth and breadth to my innate knowledge when I was challenged to learn the science of it all. 

I celebrate by obtaining my certificate in Ethnobotany in December. The journey continues as open myself to the opportunities for health and healing through our connections to the Earth and the knowledge we have from millennia of adapting to our environment. 

Mary Herrera-Matthias
Environmental Coordinator - Orutsaramiut Traditional Native Council

Mary is an Alaskan Native; Yupik descendant on her mother’s side, born and raised in Bethel, Alaska. While growing up she was always drawn to the outdoor environments, exploring plants, insects, animals, fish, and found it within herself that she could never move away from her homeland, where the blueberries bloom and where the salmon run near and in the Kuskokwim River. She is a daughter, a mother, a wife, a sister, an aunty, a subsistence gatherer, a hunter, a stewardess of the lands and waterways and an environmental advocate.

In her working career, She has taken on passionately and has served as an administrative Environmental Program Director, serving 11 years building capacity with EPA’s Indian General Assistance Program (IGAP) all together. She also served as ONC’s Natural Resources Director for a couple of years which took her further into the environmental realm and she never knew she'd be lead into the path where she’d become more involved in fighting for the protection of their cultural and traditional subsistence lifestyle in which they are challenged with the Donlin Gold Mine.

Robert Hoffman
Secretary - Orutsaramiut Traditional Native Council