Roy Nelson, the outgoing Central Region Chair of the National Council of American Indian and Alaska Native School Board Members (AIAN), is the 2022 Luminous Eagle Award winner.

During his service as a school board member from Minnesota’s Red Lake School District, Nelson also served as AIAN Chair and Elder. Nelson also has been extremely active with the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools (NAFIS), where he has volunteered as a grassroots advocate focused on the importance of Impact Aid.

He has been a voice for children residing on Indian Lands, military children, children living in low-rent housing projects, and children whose parents are civilians but work or live on federal property. He was inspired by his family to represent the needs of his own children, and he was elected to the Red Lake School Board in 1991.

“It’s humbling to receive this award,” Nelson said. “I’m so thankful.”

Nelson is a graduate of Minnesota’s Mountain Iron High School who enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1969. During his service in the Navy, he worked on fighter jets and hydraulic systems until his honorable discharge in 1973. When he returned home, he trained to work as an emergency medical technician, and he combines his work as a first responder with his school board service to this day.

AIAN’s Luminous Eagle Award recognizes an individual or a school board that promotes and advocates for equitable conditions, increased access to quality instruction, and improved academic outcomes and career readiness for American Indian and Alaska Native students through excellence in policies, practices, and strategies.