Frank Ettawageshik receives CANR Distinguished Service Award

Frank Ettawageshik to receive 2020 CANR Distinguished Service Award at ANR Week.

Frank Ettawageshik, of Harbor Springs, Michigan, will receive the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) Outstanding Alumnus Award during ANR Week on March 6.

The award honors individuals or partners who have made outstanding contributions to Michigan’s agriculture and natural resources industries, and who possess high standards of integrity and character to positively reflect and enhance the prestige of the college.

Ettawageshik served eight years on Michigan State University Extension’s Great Lakes Leadership Academy (GLLA) Board of Governors and was instrumental in developing the curriculum for the Leadership Advancement Program. He recruited Native American Leaders for both GLLA programs, thus implementing a succession plan for Native American Leaders and designing a legacy of collaboration on natural resources and other concerns. As a patient and tenacious teacher of the value of leading across differences, Ettawageshik continued to bring values of diversity, equity and inclusion to the GLLA Board.

Currently, Ettawageshik is director of the United Tribes of Michigan. Previously, he served 16 years in tribal elected office, including 14 years as chair of his tribe, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. During his tenure, he built alliances between his own tribe’s government, local regional governments, and the State of Michigan to further the Odawas’ resource protection agenda. As a leader in the National Congress of the American Indian, he has encouraged tribes throughout the country to build similar liaisons and helped them accomplish their goals.

With over 40 years of public service, he has served on numerous state, national and international boards, including the National Congress of American Indians, Association on American Indian Affairs, Anishinaabemowin Teg and the Michigan Indian Education Council. He has demonstrated his knowledge of issues relating to natural resource use and protection. He authored the “Tribal and First National Great Lakes Water Accord,” collecting signatures for this agreement. As a representative of indigenous peoples at the United Nations, he has continued to build his international reputation as a protector of the environment and champion of First Nations’ access.

Ettawageshik has been honored for his service with Clean Water Action Michigan’s 2007 Great Lakes Guardian of the Year Award, and as a 2010 fellow at the Native Nations Institute Indigenous Leaders Fellowship Program at the University of Arizona.

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