Ruth Yellowhawk was a community-centered radio journalist and storyteller who worked with the Kettering Foundation from 1997 to 2010. Her belief in inclusion and equity was demonstrated through her work in public radio, research, restorative justice, and education. The Ruth Yellowhawk Fellowship is awarded to Native American and Indigenous practitioners, community leaders, and scholars whose work focuses on human and democratic rights and carries forward the values Yellowhawk exemplified. The fellowship was established in 2010, and past recipients include Jim Yellowhawk and Harley Eagle. Recipients of the Ruth Yellowhawk Fellowship are selected by the president of the Kettering Foundation.

Ruth Yellowhawk (1960-2010), also known as Taho Kahwoka Win, meaning “Woman Whose Voice is in the Air,” was an Ohioan of Wyandot, Huron, and German ancestry. From 1984 to 1996, she was the program director and an on-air host at WYSO, Dayton’s public radio station. In 1996, Yellowhawk and her family moved to the Black Hills of South Dakota, embracing a lifestyle closer to their Native American roots. There, she was cofounder and codirector of the Indigenous Issues Forums and was tireless in her efforts to educate and advocate for Native American decision-making practices. She served as vice president of the Center for Restorative Justice, a community-based organization working to create resolutions between criminals and victims. She was a mentor of youth and a coach to professional women and was also a participant in a sustained dialogue on racism in South Dakota.