Many Vashon residents, as well as people across the country, have been galvanized to “resist” the current presidential administration over the past year. Signs are posted on roadsides. Bumper stickers adorn SUVs, hybrids and work vans. Fliers and community commentary abound.

Now, imagine sustaining that passion all day, every day. Imagine making resistance your day job, seemingly against all odds, for nearly four decades.

Renowned environmentalist, author and farmer Winona LaDuke has given her life over to activism. She will share experiences and inspiration from her work as an activist at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 10, at Open Space for Arts & Community.

LaDuke, who has lived and worked on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota most of her adult life, cofounded Honor the Earth in 1993. The Native-led nonprofit seeks to transform “economic, social and political relationships that have been based on systems of conquest [into] systems based on just relationships with each other and with the natural world.” More specifically, it aims to “protect native seeds, heritage crops and indigenous foodways from patenting and genetic engineering.”

Honor the Earth is currently fighting a proposed Enbridge pipeline that would transport Canadian tar sand oils to the Great Lakes area — across Native land in Minnesota.

LaDuke believes the development would endanger the water, horticulture and livelihood of multiple nations. Funds raised through her Vashon appearance will help the organization stop the pipeline-maker’s plans.

Tickets are $25 for general admission, $15 for students or seniors and $150 to attend a catered reception with LaDuke prior to her speech.

LaDuke, the daughter of an Ojibwe father and Jewish mother, began her activism in her teens, protesting uranium mines. She earned degrees from Harvard and Antioch Universities; was principal of a high school on the White Earth Reservation; served on the board of Greenpeace USA; ran for vice president on Ralph Nader’s Green Party ticket in 1996 and 2000; and has written multiple books.

In 2017, LaDuke launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund one of her latest ventures — a farm premised on the concept of post-petroleum agriculture called the Winona Hemp and Heritage Farm. The 40-acre Minnesota hemp-fiber farm will be powered by horses instead of fossil fuels. The campaign garnered more than $132,000.

Her lifelong activism to protect the environment, uphold human rights and develop more sustainable agricultural systems has garnered her several awards, including recognition by Time magazine as a promising American leader and induction into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

She’s also the subject of the recently released documentary “First Daughter and the Black Snake,” which explores her ongoing battle to stop the development of several pipelines that would cut across Native American reservations in northern Minnesota. In an interview with radio host Tavis Smiley last year, LaDuke, plain-spoken and passionate, noted the folly of billions of dollars spent on oil production rather than sustainable energy.

“I’m interested in infrastructure for people, not corporations,” she told Smiley.

Her vision and passion resonated with islander Patrick Christie, a professor at the University of Washington School of Marine and Environmental Affairs. Christie met LaDuke in 2011, and the two have been collaborating on projects over the past several years. LaDuke is advising a group of UW students researching growing hemp versus other crops and Christie has worked with Tulalip Tribes on projects related to conservation.

“Climate change is a global challenge, and the transition toward renewable energy is a global economic, social and environmental opportunity,” Christie said in a recent email. “Vashon will suffer the consequences of tar sand oil extraction both as a result of increased oil shipments to the Salish Sea (and via) increased greenhouse gas emissions. We need to create coalitions. We need to listen to, and find inspiration from, leaders like Winona.”

The pair’s association led to LaDuke’s Open Space appearance, which is being organized by another island activist, Jen Williams, and sponsored by several Vashon- based nonprofits. The event is slated to be festive, with a talk by LaDuke and other indigenous leaders, live music and dance.

Like Christie, Williams sees close ties between LaDuke’s work and local concerns. Several islanders, for instance, recently attended a hearing in Renton about Puget Sound Energy’s plan to continue using coal to produce electricity until 2035, Williams noted.

“In order to sustain a livable, vibrant and regenerative planet for future generations, these and all fossil-fuel expansion projects must be stopped,” Williams said. “This is a core belief that many on Vashon share with Winona LaDuke. I hope to be inspired by her strength, her message and her vision for the future.”

The main event starts at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $25/person ($15/students/seniors). No one will be turned away for lack of funds. The special reception with Winona is from 6 to 7 p.m.; tickets are $150/person. Tickets are available at Vashon Bookshop and Brown Paper Tickets.

All proceeds will go to Honor the Earth.





