Jonathon Solomon (March 10, 1932 – July 13, 2006) was a native Gwich'in from

Fort Yukon, Alaska Fort Yukon (''Gwichyaa Zheh'' in Gwich'in) is a city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska, straddling the Arctic Circle. The population, predominantly Gwich'in Alaska Natives, was 428 at the 2020 census, down from 59 ...

, 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 Chief of the Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich'in, a lifetime designation, from 2002 until his death in 2006. He was a founding member of the Gwich'in Steering Committee formed by the Gwich'in at Arctic Village (Vashraii K'oo) in 1988, and dedicated to the preservation of the Porcupine Caribou Herd. He served with distinction until his death. He was awarded the

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

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

Sarah James Sarah Agnes James (born 1946) is a Neets'aii Gwich'in activist from Arctic Village, Alaska, USA, but was born in Fort Yukon "because that is where the hospital was. I grew up part of the time in Fort Yukon and Salmon River, but most of the time ...

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

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR, pronounced as “''ANN-warr''”) or Arctic Refuge is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States, on traditional Inupiaq, Iñupiaq and Gwichʼin, Gwich'in lands. The refuge is of ...

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

Porcupine caribou The Porcupine caribou is a herd or ecotype of the mainland barren-ground caribou (''Rangifer arcticus arcticus'', Synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''R. tarandus groenlandicus''Harding LE (2022) Available names for Rangifer (Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Cervid ...

, which has been a foundation for the Gwich'in culture for 20,000 years. He founded the Gwichyaa Gwich'in Ginkhe', a non-profit organization in Fort Yukon in 1970, also known as the "three G's". The organization was dedicated to fighting the environmental destruction of the Yukon Flats, specifically the proposed Rampart Dam project which would have flooded the entire Yukon Flats and thus forcing the dislocation of the Gwich'in people. The project was halted.

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Obituary
1932 births 2006 deaths 20th-century Alaska Native people 21st-century Alaska Native people American environmentalists People from Fort Yukon, Alaska Goldman Environmental Prize awardees American Gwich'in people {{NorthAm-native-bio-stub