Washington's Fawn Sharp elected president of National Congress of American Indians
An indigenous leader from Washington state is the new president of the National Congress of American Indians.
Fawn Sharp, current president of the Quinault Tribe, was elected Thursday with 61 percent of the vote.
She debated three other candidates this week before the election. On the topic of climate change, she said she wants youth directly involved.
"Directly engage them in not only the planning, [but also] the implementation. If we have testimony before Congress our kids should be at the table with us, their voice should be heard, they should be part of every task force we have on climate policy," said Sharp.
Indian Country Today live-streamed the debate online.
Sharp said she has had to declare emergency situations already for the Quinault Tribe because of climate change impacts.
In her acceptance speech, Sharp promised to marshal the resilience of Native Americans to tackle the challenges facing them.
Sharp is an attorney who has worked in private practice and for the Quinault Nation. She'll serve two years as leader of the national congress.
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Paige Browning
Newscaster
Paige hosts midday newscasts and monitors news of significance to the Puget Sound region. She hopped over Washington’s mountains to join KUOW, after hosting news and reporting at Spokane Public Radio since 2011. She began her start in radio while a journalism student at University of Montana, by sharing stories with KUFM. Paige was raised in the mountains and rivers around Spokane. In her spare time she cheers on the Mariners in the summer, and hopes for snow in the winter.
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Gil Aegerter
Gil edits feature pieces and helps guide staff reporters through their stories. He previously served as interim digital director and online managing editor at KUOW. Before that he spent seven years with NBCNews.com, where he was variously a senior editor, editor-producer and features editor. He also worked 25 years as a newspaper editor in Anchorage, Alaska, San Diego, Wilmington, N.C., and Seattle. He also was a freelance researcher for NBC Olympics for the Games in Atlanta; Sydney, Australia; Salt Lake City; Athens; and Torino, Italy. He is a graduate of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, with a degree in photojournalism.
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