Eamon O’Rourke, Up-and-Coming Director and Activist

Eamon O’Rourke is an up-and-coming director and activist. He has used his platform to create awareness for the reclamation of Native American territory. His most recent video, “Every Night When the Sun Goes Down,” highlights a group of Native Americans living in Detroit-Chippewa territory and describes the historical context for their struggle.

Eamon O’Rourke was born in Ireland and immigrated to Chicago as a child. His activism began when he was in college at Northwestern University where he helped organize a successful divestment campaign against mining company Vedanta Resources, who were exploiting villagers in India’s Niyamgiri Hills region by extracting bauxite that they could not afford to process themselves.

O’Rourke is passionate about the health of Mother Earth and has actively participated in issues related to environmentalism.

His work to protect nearby Lake Superior from mining operations was recognized by the Sierra Club, which presented him with their Gold Award for activism.

He participated in a protest against the ill effects of the construction of a natural gas pipeline through Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a campaign that received national attention. The protest was organized by National Wildlife Federation and Grassroots Network, and O’Rourke traveled to Washington State with thousands of others who had signed a petition against the construction of a pipeline.

O’Rourke recently began using his platform to highlight the struggles of Native Americans in Detroit-Chippewa territory. He has spoken at colleges, universities and conferences such as the national meeting of the Indian Movement Network and in a TEDx talk that focused on his work with Indian groups seeking to reclaim land.

Earlier this year O’Rourke published a documentary, “Every Night When the Sun Goes Down”, that illustrates the day-to-day struggles of a group of Native Americans living in Detroit-Chippewa territory. The video details their efforts to reclaim land from Monsanto, who are spreading genetically modified soybeans across their territory.

Eamon O’Rourke was born in Ireland. He immigrated to Chicago on September 30, 2007, when he was 19 years old. He has two older sisters and a younger brother. He began his career in Chicago as a political organizer for Teamsters Local 701 where he worked for over three years.

Later he went to Northwestern University where he studied Political Science and served as the Director of Operations for the Student Environmental Resource Center. In 2014, O’Rourke returned to political organizing by joining the staff of Citizen Action Illinois and becoming their assistant director for progressive organizing strategy and external relations.