To raise awareness about sustainability, the environment and tribal issues, the Udall Legacy Bus, a first-of-its-kind biodiesel motor coach adorned with Vermont maple leaf prints and colorful logos from over a dozen sponsors, made a stop on its seven-week, 26-city nationwide tour at the Ithaca Farmers' Market, Saturday, June 23.

Carrying a banner around the market, 13 former Morris K. Udall Foundation scholarship recipients on the national tour and Cornell's most recent Udall Scholar, Ding Kong '08, handed out flyers and talked about the issues to dozens of shoppers at the market.

"I'm not an official scholar yet, since I haven't gone to the orientation [yet]. This is all new to me. I'm learning now about the program, and all the things the program has done," said Kong, who was in Ithaca just for the day, taking a break from his summer in New York City as a Cornell Urban Scholar doing public service.

Nevertheless, Kong joined the other Udall scholars in engaging passers-by at the market to discuss pressing environmental and Native American issues.

After the Farmers' Market, Ding gave the visiting scholars a tour of Cornell's Dilmun Hill Organic Farm, and "I showed them Akwe:kon," said Scott Perez, a Cornell graduate student in natural resources, referring to Cornell's program house that celebrates Native American heritage.

Perez, a 2001 Udall Scholar while at Fort Lewis College in Colorado and chair of the Udall Foundation's 10-year anniversary committee, who also assisted in planning the Legacy Bus Tour stops, is of Mohawk decent and has focused his dissertation on how land-grant universities work with Native American communities. Described by some foundation cohorts as the Native American wizard, Perez gave the traveling scholars an Indians 101 lecture at Cornell's Ecology House Saturday afternoon. Other events led by Perez, included a visit to the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art to see the exhibit, "Walk in Beauty: Discovering American Indian Art."

The two-month-long bus tour marks the conclusion of the 10th anniversary of the Udall Foundation's education programs. The 13 riders are participating in local public service and environmental projects in 17 states.

Their coach is the first University of Vermont-certified green charter bus and is the country's greenest motor coach to date.

Named for the late Arizona congressman, the Morris K. Udall Foundation is an independent, federally created agency that awards college scholarships, Ph.D. dissertation fellowships and internships for studies related to the environment and Native American policy and healthcare in the United States. Since 1996, the foundation has awarded 916 scholarships to college sophomores and juniors, about 80 per year; Cornell has been awarded 25 Udall scholarships to 22 students.

Cornell has received more Udall scholarships than anywhere but the University of Montana, said Perez.

For more information on the Udall Legacy Bus Tour, see http://udall10.udall.gov/.

Sandra Holley is a graduate student intern for the Cornell Chronicle.