David Samuel Orr
Remembering
This book was conceived as an expres-
sion of gratitude to the donors of the
David Samuel Orr Fund for the Earth
for their loyalty and generosity over
the years. As we culled our photos and
David’s drawings and writings, again
and again we found him in image,
art, and words embracing the natural
world, just as he does on the cover
of this book. It is this embrace and the
outlook and concerns of a young man
who left us too soon—whose passions
were palpable in childhood—that our
fund seeks to embody.
David’s mother Susan took most
of the photographs of him, with a
few additional images by other family
members. The text, quotes, and
artwork are David’s voice—gleaned
from letters, journals, and schoolwork
over his lifetime. David’s sister Laurie
designed the book itself.
After childhood explorations
in the woods of New England and
Virginia, David spent his youth in
Washoe Valley, Nevada where he
learned his deep respect for the earth
and her First Peoples. It was in Nevada
that he began to exercise his environ-
mental activism, joining a movement
to defend the Western Shoshone
rights to lands threatened by nuclear
waste, mining, and the U.S. military.
At Evergreen State College in
­ ashington, he started a composting
W inspiration—a warrior guide for loving
program in the dorms, then interned the planet, for staying honest, and for
with the Big Mountain Legal Defense building bridges of connection between
Fund in Arizona. There he helped people and the environment.
tribal leaders resist government plans Time has not changed David. The
to relocate sheepherders in order to life in these photographs stands, runs,
make room for more mining on Navajo and leaps for us; a sweet, exuberant
and Hopi lands. During that time he icon to joy and commitment, to caring
made genuine spiritual connections for life and the planet in all its forms.
with the Diné. It was a defining
experience in his life. With deep gratitude for your support,
In 1985, at the age of 21, David
climbed Mount Aconcagua in Argentina,
the tallest mountain in the Western
Hemisphere. It was a valiant gesture
made in defiance of his increasing
awareness that a disease was taking Susan, Sam, Katie, Laurie,
his mind. Two years later, when it Gwenyth, and Bevan
was clear that a life with schizophrenia
would keep him from doing the work
he most wanted to do, he took his
own life.
In order to honor and celebrate
David, we, his family, created the
David Samuel Orr Fund for the Earth.
We continue the work he was so
passionate about—supporting the
grassroots efforts of Native Americans
who act to save the environment.
Working together on the fund has
been a source of joy for us, keeping
David’s spirit alive and with us.
We still hear from his friends, and
ours, that ­he continues to be an
these are nixons iyes
they look in the rong direction
this is nixons nose
it dosen’t smell the rite sent
this is nixons hand
he can’t fit our world in it yet
Leave me in a
forest somewhere
is the only way…
simply to be
outside for
a time…
The Children’s March for
Survival flyer (1972) included
drawings by David and his
sister Katie.
 Joy to the world

Joy to all the apples and

the cattle and the open
prairies free from battle
where the fires scorched
the forests and the
grasses came to be

Joy to the oceans full of

life forms, non‑terrain,
where the rainfall makes
her surface dance
with rain

An antikrill consumption
campaign can
leave whales be
Life! This is it,
every object
can be seen
as a sign of
vibrancy.
E very moment is a chance to be
moving positively forward. If the
mind is tuned in on past passed
chances it cannot be prepared
to accept the gifts and guide the
actions of the present moment.
When I think
of what is my
own thing to do
I come to the
word receptacle.
Laughter lures.
 We live too far from the
land, with our mouths
we eat the gifts while
she becomes exhausted.
Pumpkin pie and chicken
pot pie, it all comes from
the farmland one way
or another.

Meanwhile the farmland

erodes and innocent
villagers fall victim to
gunfire. Meanwhile
indigenous people are
being overrun and uprooted
by US Foreign Policy.

We have much to learn about how to live with the Earth in a way that insures continual life for
generations. Traditional (Navajo) Native Americans live in a way that insures continual survival by
protecting and conserving and respecting the land that feeds. Their knowledge is precious and
irreplaceable, the expression of thousands of years of survival. Native peoples value the land, accept
the gifts of the land with thanks and respect and do not damage the land. To these people the land
is acknowledged, loved and worshipped as the source of life.
Blessed to be able
to see the beauty
and perfection
of the moment.
Farther from the ocean
Father is the rock
Moving to meet and feed her
Mother water womb

Farther from the ocean

Naked and alone to be
Broken by the wind
And pulled down bit by bit
Into the valley
David’s journal pages,
climb of Aconcagua,
1985

Aconcagua
I cannot change what has happened, only what will happen
Black hole, a star
that has imploded
and become an
empty antimatter
area that can do
nothing but consume.
The least I can do
is be present in more
than a physical way.
 David’s draft letter
to Congressman
Harry Reid, and
Reid’s replies,
about the land
dispute between the
Hopi and Navajo
tribes, 1986

Y
ou and I have no sense of ourselves as being intimately connected to the land, as are indigenous people. Our
ancestors were aliens to this continent, who arrived within the last few hundred years. We are the newcomers.
By the time Anglos began inhabiting and consuming the Western part of this continent, 150 years ago, the
natives had been living there for 10,000 years or more.
Simple observation of what has happened ecologically during those few years, what has happened to the ­balance,
the plant and animal species, the Air, the Water, shows clearly which civilization knows how to survive here.
We humans live on Planet Earth. It does not require a complex imagination to understand that what we do to this
planet we do to ourselves. This is as clear as the once pure Water and Air that sustain our existence… given our position
orbiting the sun here in the midst of the Universe on this awesome miraculous sphere of Rock and Water we call Earth,
it is simple common sense that we learn to live with respect for the planet that sustains our lives.
We have much to learn from the Native Americans about how to live sustainably…
All things are connected.
 Grantees

The combination of David’s interests and our mission — to support grassroots environmental projects of, by, and for
Native Americans —has meant that most grants, with a couple of heartfelt deviations, have gone to hard-working
and under-supported groups in the Southwest. The universe of need is overwhelming and our narrow focus helps
us decide. Sometimes we try to imagine where David’s feelings would have taken him, but that widens the universe
again. The touching financial support that continues to come in, plus a recent large donation, means we can give
more each year and still maintain our endowment.

1999 Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining 2009 Black Mesa Trust
2001 Diné Citizens Against Ruining our Environment Black Mesa Water Coalition
Diné Citizens Against Ruining our Environment
2002 Ohngo Gaudadeh Devia: Skull Valley Resistance Western Shoshone Defense Project
2003 Picuris Mine Relief Program C-Aquifer for Diné
Western Shoshone Defense Project Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture
Indigenous Youth Coalition of Piñon
2004 Black Mesa Water Coalition
Traditional Native Farmers Association in Santa Fe 2010 Black Mesa Trust
Black Mesa Water Coalition
2005 Ohngo Guadadeh Devia: Skull Valley Resistance C-Aquifer for Dine
Diné Citizens Against Ruining our Environment Edible Landscape Project
Indigenous Youth Coalition Honor the Earth
2006 Honor the Earth/Western Shoshone Project Honor our Pueblo Existence
Native Movement/Youth Movement/Free Alaska Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture
Margene Bullcreek (Citizen Alert) Red Water Pond Road Community Association
2007 Black Mesa Water Coalition/Just Transition TEWA Women United
Honor the Earth/Chiapas Pilot Project Western Shoshone Defense Project
Corbin Harney (Shanahai/Energy Research) 2011 Black Mesa Trust
2008 Black Mesa Water Coalition Black Mesa Water Coalition
Diné Citizens Against Ruining our Environment C-Aquifer for Diné
Western Shoshone Defense Project Diné Citizens Against Ruining our Environment
C-Aquifer for Diné Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture
Black Mesa Trust Indigenous Youth Coalition of Piñon
Western Shoshone Defense Project