Dana Tizya-Tramm

Dana Tizya-Tramm
Born1987 (age 38–39)
Old Crow, Yukon, Canada
Occupations
  • Tribal leader
  • Environmentalist
  • Director
Organization(s)Chief of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation (2019-2023), Director of Nadlii

Dana Tizya-Tramm (born 1987) is a Canadian and Vuntut Gwitchin indigenous leader, environmental activist, and AI executive who reached international prominence during his one term leading his tribe from 2019 to 2023, during which he declared a climate change emergency, pushed for environmental protections, and led his tribe through COVID. He currently serves on the First Nation School Board and serves as Director of Nadlii, a startup for artificial intelligence in culturally sensitive ways.

Biography

Tizya-Tramm was raised in Whitehorse. He started taking drugs when he was 13. He soon also became a drug dealer, and faced further personal struggles including participating in violence, but in 2008 left for Vancouver, at which point he went through withdrawal and found enjoyment in working at a gelato shop. He went to Old Crow in 2013.[1]

He was elected Chief of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation in November 2018. He declared a climate change emergency in 2019, making the Vuntut Gwitchin the first indigenous or first nation to declare a climate change emergency.[2] He has been known for advocating for environmental protection, including protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge[3] from oil drilling,[4] and led his nation towards a push for Net Zero by 2030, including through a major solar project to cover energy needs.[1]

He led the Vuntut through COVID. During this time, he helped ensure vaccination[5] and handled the response to a couple who traveled over 5 thousand miles to Old Crow, Yukon without quarantining.[6]

He also founded and serves as Director of Nadlii, a startup utilizing artificial intelligence in culturally sensitive ways.[7] Through Nadli, he is seeking to empower every First Nations tribe with a modular data center for artificial intelligence, which would be used for land-use planning.[8][9]

Tizya-Tramm also serves as vice-chair of the First Nation School Board, which oversees 11 schools in the Yukon, mostly in Indigenous communities, a role he was first elected to in 2022 and re-elected to in 2025.[10][11][12] He has called for better funding for First Nations schools from the Yukon government.[13]

He was named to the Time 100 Next in 2022: his profile was written by Aryn Baker.[14]

His wife, Zen Law, is Singaporean, and moved to Old Crow in April 2018 after just seven months of their relationship.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 Schick, Crystal. "He's the youngest Chief in his First Nation's history. Now he's leading their fight against climate change". Washington Post. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
  2. ↑ Ferguson, Marion (2021-03-17). "Chief Dana Tizya-Tramm on the environment - Canadian Studies Center". Canadian Studies Center. Archived from the original on 2026-01-13. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
  3. ↑ "Bringing Old Crow To The World". Up Here Publishing (in Catalan). 2026-06-18. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
  4. ↑ Rider, Chris; Tizya-Tramm, Dana (2018-04-20). "Porcupine caribou must be protected from threat of drilling in Arctic Wildlife Refuge | Canada's National Observer: Climate News". www.nationalobserver.com. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
  5. ↑ Taylor-Vaisey, Nick (2021-03-12). "In the far North, a gruelling vaccination effort ended in fireworks". Macleans.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2026-06-20.
  6. ↑ Thomson, Jimmy (2020-03-30). "A Couple Drove 5,000 KM to Yukon to Escape Coronavirus. Locals Were Furious". VICE. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
  7. ↑ "Researchers using AI models say the North is susceptible to severe droughts in decades ahead". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. September 19, 2024. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  8. ↑ Stockton, Talar (2025-07-24). "'This is the new land back': Former Vuntut Gwitchin chief plans AI network across First Nations". Penticton Herald. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
  9. ↑ reports, Staff (2025-07-23). "'This is the new land back': Former Vuntut Gwitchin chief plans AI network across First Nations". Yukon News. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
  10. ↑ "Trustees". First Nation School Board - Yukon. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
  11. ↑ "2025 First Nation School Board Candidates | Elections Yukon". electionsyukon.ca. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
  12. ↑ "'A long time coming': Dana Tizya-Tramm among elected trustees for Yukon First Nation School Board". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Nov 8, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  13. ↑ Connors, Sara (2025-10-29). "What a First Nation and community leaders want from the next governmen". APTN News. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
  14. ↑ "2022 TIME100 Next: Dana Tizya-Tramm". TIME. 2022-09-28. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
  15. ↑ "She found her soulmate in the Arctic Circle, 11,000km away from Singapore". Her World Singapore. 2023-02-06. Retrieved 2026-06-20.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.