PRESS RELEASE: William O. Douglas Awards Banquet

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Liz Hobson, Executive Director
Yakima Valley Museum
509.960.9175 | liz@yvmuseum.org

August 28, 2025 Yakima, WA — Nearly 400 attendees were on hand Saturday night, August 23, 2025, when the Yakima Valley Museum presented U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch with its William O. Douglas Award for his steadfast leadership in defense of Native American treaty rights.

Justice Gorsuch accepted the award for his work on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and later on the Supreme Court of the United States to vindicate the rights of tribes and Native Americans. Justice Gorsuch was nominated to the Supreme Court in 2017. Treaty rights were a continuing interest for Justice William O. Douglas during his tenure on the court from 1939 to 1975.

In her presentation of the award at the Yakima Convention Center, Museum Executive Director Liz Hobson praised Justice Gorsuch’s conviction, courage and clarity in the defense of treaties with Native Americans. “If there is a theme in Justice Gorsuch’s opinions on treaty rights, it is one that Justice Douglas would have endorsed: with treaty rights, promises made must be promises kept,” Hobson said.

In addition to the Douglas Award, the Yakima Valley Museum presented a special Lifetime Achievement Award to Cathleen Douglas Stone, philanthropist, trailblazer and widow of William O. Douglas. Stone was recognized for decades of dedication to environmental stewardship, civil rights, and community service. “Cathy acts as a catalyst for the Museum to play a vital role in fostering the next generation of thinkers and problem solvers in the Yakima River Valley,” said Cragg Gilbert, president of the Yakima Valley Museum Board of Trustees.

Following the presentation of the awards, Justice Gorsuch participated in a fireside chat with Senior Judge M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; and Chief Justice Debra L. Stephens of the Washington State Supreme Court. The audience included civic leaders, judges and other members of the legal community, tribal leaders, and supporters of the museum. The event celebrated the influence and continued relevance of Douglas, who grew up in Yakima and is the longest-serving justice in U.S. history.

The William O. Douglas Award was established in 2022 to honor individuals whose life work upholds the values Douglas championed, such as environmental conservation, First Amendment liberties, judicial independence, and Indigenous Treaty Rights. The first banquet in 2022 put a focus on the Douglas environmental legacy and honored Sally Jewell, former CEO of REI and former Secretary of the Interior. The museum houses an extensive collection of Douglas’s papers, writings, and memorabilia, and a newly expanded exhibition showcasing his life and legacy, featuring a replica of his Supreme Court office.

For more information about the award or the Yakima Valley Museum, yvmuseum.org.

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