Aloke Guha and Gudrun Emrich

Gudrun Emrich and Aloke Guha, longtime donors to First Nations, are passionate about supporting Native American rights, Native lands, and the environment.

Aloke Guha and Gudrun Emrich met in college at the University of Minnesota. Aloke was working toward a degree in electrical engineering; Gudrun was focused on a biology degree. Now, more than 40 years later, they are married, have two grown daughters and an 11-month-old granddaughter who all live near them, and they share a passion for travel, music, art, and Native causes.

The longtime First Nations donors have called Colorado home for nearly three decades. Aloke, who went on to earn a Ph.D. and worked for several computer companies during his professional career, is now a semi-retired consultant for a tech firm in Silicon Valley. Gudrun became a lawyer and currently runs a solo law practice in Boulder.

It was during Gudrun’s time as a law clerk that she became more aware of the Native American community. “I clerked for an appellate judge in the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and he was very involved with issues that touched on Native American rights.” Many of these issues resonated with Gudrun, especially those focused on the environment and social justice. Growing up in Minnesota, she recalls several Ojibwe tribes being deprived of their fishing and hunting rights.

“Native lands are often targeted for exploitation. It has always seemed like a great injustice to me, to see Native lands being a piggy bank for the rest of us,” Gudrun explains, pointing to Standing Rock and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska as recent examples of Natives defending their homelands against harmful environmental policies.

Gudrun and Aloke pose for a family photo with their two daughters and dog.

When COVID checks were being distributed across the country, Aloke and Gudrun saw the perfect opportunity to step up to help the Native community. “We didn’t need the money and realized there are many people who do,” says Aloke. “It occurred to us that many Native American communities are lacking in good healthcare and thought it would be a good place to invest this windfall. So, we started looking around for a Native organization to support, and we found First Nations.”

While the couple believes that much progress has been made in bringing Native issues to light, they encourage more Native Americans to enter politics and make their voices heard. “We have always been aware that there is not as much space given to Native Americans and their causes, and we would like to hear more of their unique voices and perspectives,” observes Aloke.

A life filled with art, music, and travel

With the beautiful backdrop of scenic Colorado, Gudrun and Aloke enjoy the local arts and support other organizations, such as public radio and television, the zoo, and nearby museums. “We belong to the Denver Museum of Art. They recently had a phenomenal exhibit there by Kent Monkman, a brilliant Native American artist out of Canada,” says Gudrun, adding that Monkman’s work is one example of art that needs to be supported.

“The arts, in general, are under attack,” she continues. “Arts have often been used as a way to highlight the plight of the underrepresented, and I think that kind of art is being quashed and censored right now by more colonial views.”

Aloke is an artist, himself. A singer. For more than 25 years, he has been part of a nonprofit, Boulder-based, 50-member ensemble called Cantabile, for which he had to audition. “Our musical genre is broad. We do classical pieces, old English madrigals, and recently, we have been focusing on the works of contemporary American composers,” he shares.

In 2023, Cantabile performed a concert featuring music composed entirely by Native Americans. Called “Iholba’,” which translates to “The Vision,” the concert was based on the work of Chickasaw Native Jerod Tate and was sung in the Chickasaw and Lakota languages, with melodies from the Wichita Tribe of the Southern Plains, recalls Aloke. “We had to learn three Native languages for this unusual concert. It was very challenging,” but hit all the right notes for the audience.

The world travelers stand near the Natural Coral Bridge on Neil Island in the Andamans.

One of the couple’s favorite pastimes is traveling to other parts of the world, like Europe, India, Egypt, and Turkey. They especially love Hawaii. “We enjoy nature and the beauty of the islands. We like to visit the sacred places on the Big Island, where we have been about eight or nine times,” says Gudrun.

One Hawaiian site they frequent often is the Place of Refuge, a cultural landmark that once served as a sanctuary of forgiveness for lawbreakers. During their most recent trip to Hawaii, the couple added a new venue to their itinerary: the Iolani Palace in Honolulu. “It’s the only royal palace in the United States,” says Aloke.

And the perfect addition to their ongoing exploration and appreciation of Hawaii.

Thank you, from First Nations

First Nations is deeply grateful to Gudrun and Aloke for their generous donations over the years, and for being dedicated advocates of Native American causes.