2021 Bright Award Winner
When asked when their journey as a climate activist began, India Logan-Riley responds that they were “born into it” because, as an Indigenous person, their history is intertwined with the history of climate change. Logan-Riley is Māori – specifically Kahungunu, Rangitāne and Rongomaiwahine – and Indigenous to Aotearoa (New Zealand). As co-founder of the Indigenous youth climate activism group, Te Ara Whatu, Logan-Riley is building on the work of relatives and elders, continuing a legacy of resistance to colonialism, development and environmental degradation.

About the Bright Award
The Bright Award was created by a gift from Raymond E. Bright, Jr., JD ’59 in 2007 on behalf of his late wife, Marcelle, and himself. Mr. Bright died in 2011. Under the terms of his gift, the Bright Award is given annually to an “individual who has made significant contributions in the environmental preservation and sustainability area” and is awarded to an individual from one of ten rotating regions. The regions the winners have been chosen from since the award’s inception are: the Middle East; West Asia; Africa; Europe; South America; and North America.