Law professor Barton Thompson, who leads the Bright Award nomination committee, explained that the committee was drawn to Logan-Riley since “they are able to meld climate advocacy… with an Indigenous perspective that we thought was both relatively unique, and even more importantly, inspirational.”

The nomination committee viewed Logan-Riley as a “uniquely compelling and inspirational” individual, Thompson said. Logan-Riley will be invited to speak at Stanford in the spring, when an award ceremony will also be held at the law school.

Thompson explained that “the world is increasingly recognizing that many of our environmental and social problems stem from our colonial history,” meaning that Indigenous communities must be centered in activism work.

“I think partly because of India’s Indigenous perspective, they understand the linkages among all environmental issues and social issues,” he said.