2001 Ecotrust Indigenous Leadership Award
Honoree: Susan "Tweet" Burdick
"I am living as a traditional Yurok woman should live, doing what I should be doing; taking care of our precious elders, guiding and teaching the children about being Indian in this part of the country."
—Susan Burdick
Susan Burdick is honored as a finalist for the 2001 Ecotrust Indigenous Leadership Award in Conservation for her community work in the areas of cultural rejuvenation and environmental health. Susan is a member of the Yurok Tribe and lives in Salyer, California.
Susan is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department to improve identification and conservation management practices of endangered medicinal plants and significant basket materials. Last spring, Susan was elected as a member of the esteemed Elders Circle for the Medicinal Plants Working Group in conjunction with U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
Susan is a co-founder of the Northern Californian Basketweavers and Gatherers Project. As a project leader for this organization, she has spoken at community meetings and national conferences on the issues of environmental health and cultural rejuvenation. Susan is also working independently on cultural issues in numerous forums.
Susan was a founding member of the California Indian Basketweavers Association (CIBA). She helped shape CIBA's mission to address the dangers posed to basketweavers by the use of pesticides and halt their use on public and private lands.
Susan has taught basket weaving at Humboldt State University for over eleven years. She also taught traditional twined basketweaving at the College of the Redwoods Eureka Extension Branch and in McKinleyville.
