Lydia Olympic
Lydia Olympic is a Yupik/Sugpiaq from the Village of Igiugig, a small community located off the road system in Southwestern Alaska. Iguigig (pronounced Ig-ee-oog-ik) is near Lake Iliamna, which drains into Bristol Bay — one of the richest fisheries in the world.
Growing up, Lydia spent a lot of time fishing. She still goes home every summer to help her family collect and dry salmon at their fish camp. But most of her time these days is spent organizing, and teaching people about development proposals that could threaten Bristol Bay’s fish, other wildlife resources, and ways of life.
Lydia began working for the Wilderness Society in June 2006 as a tribal advocate in our Anchorage, Alaska office. In this role, she educated tribes and federal officials about the proposed Pebble Mine and related environmental and regulatory issues. In 2007, she was invited to attend the George Washington University in Washington D.C. where she completed the Native American Political Leadership program.
Before joining The Wilderness Society staff, Lydia served seven years on the Igiugig Village Tribal Council, including two years as Council President. She also served as Environmental Director for her tribe. As the elected Vice-Chairman of the National Tribal Operations Committee for the U.S. EPA, Lydia helped identify the high cancer rate among indigenous peoples of the United States, and created a budget for environmental needs in Indian country, including clean air and safe drinking water. She also assisted in creating the Tribal Mining Advisory Committee to help tribes understand mining laws and regulations.
Lydia attended the University of Alaska in Fairbanks and Anchorage. In addition to the many hours she works on behalf of The Wilderness Society, defending wild places like Bristol Bay, Lydia also finds time to serve on the board of the Alaska Community Action on Toxics.
