Meet Alannah Acaq Hurley — 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize Winner 

Alannah Acaq Hurley grew up in the Yup’ik village of Clark’s Point on Alaska’s Bristol Bay, taught by her grandmother that the water and the salmon are who her people are. For over two decades, she organized 15 tribal nations to stop the proposed Pebble Mine — a project that would have gouged North America’s largest open-pit mine straight into the headwaters of the world’s largest sockeye salmon run. She won.

In 2023, her coalition secured a historic EPA veto, protecting 25 million acres of wild salmon country for good.

“Any threat to our water and our salmon is a real threat to who we are as Native people.”

Challenging the “Savior” Narrative Alannah isn’t an outsider swooping in to save Bristol Bay — she’s from there. Her fight isn’t charity, it’s home. That’s the difference between saving a place and belonging to it.

Challenging Economic Logic Pebble Mine promised jobs and profit. Alannah’s answer: some things aren’t for sale. The salmon run alone sustains food, culture, and economy for generations — that’s a return no mine could ever match.

Challenging Ignorance Most people don’t know their wild salmon comes from Bristol Bay — or how close it came to being gone. Alannah’s work is a reminder: what’s on your plate has a story, and someone fought
for it.