Tom B.K. Goldtooth facts for kids

Tom B.K. Goldtooth (born 1953) is a Native American leader. He works for environmental fairness, climate action, and the rights of Indigenous people. He is also a speaker and film producer.

Goldtooth helps build healthy communities based on traditional Indigenous knowledge. Since 1996, he has been the executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN). He was also a member of the IEN National Council since 1992.

Tom Goldtooth is a member of the Navajo Nation. He also has ties to the Bdewakaƞtoƞwaƞ Dakota people from Minnesota. He lives near the start of the Mississippi River in Bemidji, Minnesota.

Growing Up and Early Life

Tom Goldtooth was born Bruce Kendall Goldtooth in Farmington, New Mexico. This area is close to the Navajo Nation. His mother, Norma Bell Lee, was one of the first Native American women to get a degree in microbiology. She worked in medical labs.

Tom was raised by his stepfather, Dennis Wesley Goldtooth. Dennis was a Navajo Nation policeman. Tom often stayed with his grandmother in Tuba City. He also visited his grandfather, a respected medicine man.

Tom's mother worked in Page, Arizona, a town that grew because of the Glen Canyon Dam. This dam created Lake Powell, a popular spot for water fun. Tom went to high school in Page.

Learning About Nature

During his youth, Tom was active in the Boy Scouts of America. He earned the Life Scout award, which is a high honor. He also received the Vigil Honor in the Order of the Arrow. This experience, along with family traditions of ranching and hunting, taught him leadership skills. Through hunting trips, he learned to respect and protect the environment.

Working to Help Communities

In 1971, Goldtooth started college at Arizona State University. He later joined the U.S. Army in 1973. In the Army, he worked to fight racism. He helped Native soldiers come together after the Vietnam War.

After leaving the Army in 1976, Tom earned an Associate of Arts (AA) degree. He helped Native students in college. He also volunteered at the Tacoma Indian Center. He decided he wanted to work with Native American families.

Helping Families and Children

Goldtooth became a social services director for the Navajo Nation. He worked to protect children and families. In 1981, he moved to Minnesota.

He later led the St. Paul American Indian Center. There, he created a program to help Native children find foster homes. He also started the "Back to Mother Earth Program." This program taught Native children and parents about traditional farming and cultural practices.

Protecting the Environment

In 1991, Goldtooth became the coordinator for the Red Lake Nation's environmental program. He worked to close old landfill dumps. He realized that Native tribes needed more help to protect their lands.

In 1991, he was chosen as a Native spokesperson at a big meeting in Washington D.C. This meeting was called the "First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit." This event helped him become a leader in environmental justice for Native lands.

Today, Goldtooth continues to lead the Indigenous Environmental Network. It is based in Bemidji, Minnesota.

Working for Change

For over 30 years, Tom Goldtooth has worked with Native American and Indigenous people worldwide. He fights for environmental and economic fairness. He also works on issues like climate change, energy, and water protection.

He helped write a booklet about the risks of a program called REDD. This program involves trading carbon credits, which can affect Indigenous lands. He is also part of a group that works on climate change issues at the United Nations.

Goldtooth is a board member of the Science & Environmental Health Network. He is also part of the Global Alliance on the Rights of Nature. He works with other groups that focus on climate justice.

Sharing Stories and Raising Awareness

Goldtooth helped start the first Bioneers Conference Indigenous Forum in 2007. He also helped produce a documentary called "Drumbeat for Mother Earth." This film showed how toxic chemicals affect the food chain and Indigenous people. It explained how these chemicals can harm Native women, children, and men.

He also worked with Sheila Watt-Cloutier to raise awareness about human rights. They focused on the rights of Indigenous Peoples at global meetings. These meetings discussed reducing harmful chemicals called POPs. POPs are chemicals that stay in the environment and build up in living things.

Awards and Recognition

In 2015, Tom Goldtooth received the Gandhi Peace Award. In 2010, both the NAACP and the Sierra Club honored him. They called him a "Green Hero of Color."

Family Life

Tom Goldtooth lives in Bemidji, Minnesota, near the start of the Mississippi River. His son, Dallas Goldtooth, is also an activist. Dallas worked on the Keystone XL pipeline campaign. He is also a writer, artist, and a member of the comedy group The 1491s.