MISSOULA — Scott Douglas Nicholson, beloved former Missoula resident who dedicated 30 years of his life fighting for social justice and human rights throughout the Americas, died on June 24, 2017. “I can’t think of anything else that I’d rather be doing,” he said. “It feels like the work we do is important, and it has some impact.”
Scott was born in 1958 to Helen and Robert Nicholson. He grew up with his sister Debbie in San Pedro, California. As a child, Scott wanted to be a Presbyterian minister. In his adolescence Scott had an avid interest in motocross, then developed a love of nature and photography; camping, skiing, and backpacking with his father. Scott’s mother’s love of nature and prose influenced his life. A music aficionado and fan of Jimi Hendrix Scott, played electric guitar with burning passion. His favorite bands were The Grateful Dead, The Moody Blues and Deep Purple. Scott was humble; working as a Holiday Inn maid and department store Santa. Scott loved to travel; a trip through Europe after high school, a year skiing in the Pacific Northwest and summer in New Zealand and Australia.
Scott envisioned a very different life for himself. In 1985, business degree in hand, he was working at a bank in Pocatello, Idaho, as a management trainee. It was fortuitous that he attended a lecture about American funded terrorism in Central America. At that moment, he decided to trade his career in banking to study social work. Scott earned his MSW degree from Eastern Washington University in 1988, was active with the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane, the St. Anne’s sanctuary program, and hunger alleviation initiatives in Washington State.
He began his solidarity work in Latin America at the Mesa Grande refugee camp in Honduras, home to thousands of people who had fled from the U.S. sponsored war and repression in El Salvador in 1989. He accompanied people back to their homes in Guancorita. In July 1990, the town was renamed Comunidad Ignacio Ellacuría in honor of the rector of the Jesuit Central America University where a massacre had occurred.
Scott came to Missoula in 1996 and began Friends of Ellacuria, then in 2000 helped start Community Action for Justice in the Americas (CAJA) to work in solidarity with the people of Latin America in the struggle for social and environmental justice and ending harmful U.S. intervention. CAJA invited many Latin American activists to Missoula to share their struggles against injustice. In one of CAJA’s first activities Scott organized a tour with a historic leader of the Salvadorian teacher’s union, Rafael Coto. In Missoula, Rafael shared his story then helped students make connections with the injustice of the impending adjunct teacher layoffs at the University of Montana. CAJA organized a high-profile protest outside the football stadium, igniting community support to stop the worst of the cuts and showing the importance of solidarity between activists across borders.
CAJA led many other campaigns including the push for UM to join the Workers’ Rights Consortium to ensure that collegiate garments were not produced in sweatshops, and the drive to have UM terminate its exclusive contract with Coca-Cola due to the killings of union organizers in Coke bottling plants in Colombia. Scott’s passion in CAJA helped inspire countless students to commit to a lifetime pursuit of human rights, peace and environmental justice work
Scott was an organizer with the Montana Human Rights Network (MHRN). In 2002, he received a Missoula Peacemaker of the Year Award. In 2004, he left Missoula to spend seven years in Colombia working to bring the truth about the U.S. involvement in the war in Colombia and accompanying women’s organizations, peasant associations, and labor leaders to protect them from murder by the right wing paramilitary. Annually, he would return from his solidarity work with community leaders to share their stores at events across Montana and the region. In 2008 Scott received a Montana Amnesty International Award for his human rights work. In 2011, he joined Global Ministries’; he lived and worked at Home of Hope and Peace (Hogar de Esperanza y Paz) community center in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.
From 2014-2016 he was a UM adjunct faculty member in social work co-teaching a course on Human Rights and Social Justice on the US-Mexico border.
To rejuvenate his passion for justice, Scott took solo backpacking trips into the Canadian wilderness. He had an eye for photography, both of scenery and wildlife and as witness to the struggles of people in Latin America.
Scott studied many religions beginning with Christianity and then moving to Eastern religion and philosophy and meditation and yoga (Yogananda).
Many Montanans joined with Scott in his work and have incredible memories and stories to tell. He was a teacher, mentor, friend across the Americas and is widely remembered and honored. His sister says he was an incredible brother.
With much love, Scott asked us to continue the struggle for social and environmental justice, and to cherish the love and compassion of each other, and the beauty of nature.
To honor his legacy, CAJA and the MHRN are organizing an action on the Orange Street bridge preceding a remembrance celebration on September 10 at 5 p.m. Friends of Scott will gather in Missoula on September 10 at 6 p.m. at Silver Park to celebrate his life and dedication to the values of racial and economic justice. Please wear blue, Scott’s favorite color, and bring a dish to share with friends. A tribute website honors Scott’s memory, www.scottpresente.org. He is survived by his beloved sister Debbie and father Bob.