Anton Treuer

Anton Treuer (White Earth/Leech Lake Ojibwe) has spent his life's work focused on transcending barriers. As the new executive director of the American Indian Resource Center at Bemidji State University in Minnesota, Treuer is on a mission to make connections among tribal members and multiple generations of Natives in order to perpetuate the traditional culture and language.

"That's why art, language, and technology are so powerful," he said. "They transcend barriers, and they connect people across time and space."

An accomplished singer for ceremonial drum groups on the Leech Lake and White Earth Reservations, as well as a teacher, storyteller and keeper of the Ojibwe language, Treuer has worked tirelessly during the past two decades to gather hundreds of hours of recordings and thousands of pages of traditional stories in Ojibwe with English translations.

For his contributions to his community and the country, he has been named a recipient of the 2014 Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Award.