Raised on Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea, Larry Merculieff is an Aleut Elder and Wisdom Keeper, and father of three children, who has served his people and other indigenous peoples locally, nationally, and internationally in a number of leadership capacities. He was the first Alaska Native commissioner of the Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development and one of four Native Americans selected to present at the 1999 White House Conference on the Oceans in Monterey California. Larry is the co-founder of the Indigenous Peoples’ Council for Marine Mammals, the Alaska Forum on the Environment, the International Bering Sea Forum, and the Alaska Oceans Network, and he was the founder and coordinator of the Bering Sea Council of Elders. He has co-authored, Aleut Wisdom: Stories from an Aleut Messenger (in French, Second Story Press) and Stop Talking: Indigenous Ways of Teaching and Learning. He is particularly focused on delivering the wisdom of the Elders that is urgently needed at a time when Mother Earth’s life support systems are pushed to the edge, and there is a need to restore the sacred feminine to an unbalanced masculine world. He is currently an independent consultant focused on strategic organizational planning, conference development, project management, event facilitation and cross-cultural orientation.
