The Quoddy Tides

2006 November 24

Bridges, Francis win Sierra Club award

David Moses Bridges and Vera Francis of the Pleasant Point reservation, known as Sipayik to the Passamaquoddy Tribe, received the Maine Chapter of the Sierra Club's 2006 Award for Leadership in Promoting Conservation at the Grassroots Level at the club's recent annual gathering in Freeport.

This award was given in recognition of their dedication and commitment to organizing Ntulankeyutmonen Nkihtaqmikon (We Take Care of the Homeland) and as eloquent proponents for environmental justice and the rights of local communities, including indigenous people, to full access to democratic processes in order to manage and protect their resources and environments.

The Sierra Club has long advocated for environmental justice and protection for "special places," including habitat for wildlife species and heritage sites. The club believes that the work of Bridges and Francis to protect Passamaquoddy Bay is important because public health and safety for the Passamaquoddy people and the waters that are home to whales, seals, porpoises, seabirds and many other marine and plant life must not be jeopardized by environmental risks and uncertainties of large-scale polluting industrialization.