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Danny Beaton protests against Dump Site 41 in Tiny Township, Ontario, Canada. Site 41 is a landfill slated to be built on Alliston Aquifier, reputed to contain some of the purest water in the world. (Copyright Jim E. Simpson)
Danny Beaton’s passion for the environment emerged after two life-changing experiences: He sobered up after almost two decades of alcohol and drug abuse and had a vision that had a profound effect on him.
“I had a vision of an orca killer whale that was crying, and it shook me up,” he said.
“I was stoned for 19 years and finally when I got free of the poison, my brain became clear and I reacted to all the destruction and injustice I could see to Mother Earth, and that's where it all started.”
That was 20 years ago and since then Beaton, a Turtle Clan Mohawk of Grand River Six Nations in Ontario has been campaigning for environmental causes in Canada, the United States, and South America.
On March 26 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Beaton, 56, will be one of 14 Native Canadians recognized for their achievements at the 17th Annual National Aboriginal Achievement Awards (NAAA). He will receive the award for the category of “Environment and Natural Resources.”
Across the country, Beaton has worked with Northern Cree, Innu, Inuit, Apache, and Ojibway to protect their cultures and traditional territories from various development schemes.
“There are a lot of struggles going on all across Canada right now,” he says.
“Our elders are saying, ‘Don't stop defending Mother Earth, because the earth is sacred to us, she gives us everything we need, and you can't just allow the earth to be destroyed, allow rivers to be dammed, allow forests to be clear-cut. We have to continue to stand up for Mother Earth and do everything we can.’”
Beaton “works both sides of the border,” and one of his successes was helping stop oil exploration in the caribou calving grounds of Alaska’s Arctic National Refuge. The caribou are central to the economy and way of life of the Gwitch’n Nation.
He has also helped protect the sacred remains of the traditional Seminole territories in Florida and worked with the indigenous peoples from the Amazon Rainforest to bring their concerns about deforestation to a wider audience.
As part of his work, Beaton has produced and directed four films, three of which have been broadcast nationally in Canada. A traditional Native flute player, he uses his artistry and communication skills to affirm Native cultures through film, photography, music, writing, and teaching.
He has lectured in schools, colleges and universities in Canada, and has also lectured and performed in Japan and the United Kingdom. In 1992, he received the Governor General’s Medal for outstanding contributions to his fellow Canadians.
The NAAA awards are given by the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation (NAAF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to deliver programs that provide the tools necessary for Aboriginal peoples, in particular youth, to achieve their potential.
