Clutching a cup of coffee at the General Mercantile the morning after winning the Human Rights Award from the Montana chapter of Amnesty International, Katie Knight grinned and considered the path that led her to this moment in time.

Her awakening about human rights in the larger world occurred at the age of 15, back when she went to New York for a seminar put on by the American Friends Service Committee.

Back then, she laughs, the lingo was different. Terms like "black nationals" and "women's lib" were commonplace in social-justice circles.

"That would have been 1970," she said. "I'm just sort of a natural-born social critic."

For the past two years, Knight served as co-chair of the Helena Peace Seekers. For the last eight, she has served as curator of education at the Holter Museum of Art.

But come next month, Knight said, she'll leave the job at the museum and turn to her work as a visual artist.

Part photographer, part civil activist, she has traveled to Colombia, Nicaragua and Namibia to document human rights issues with her camera.

Along the way, Knight has learned her share of lessons on the road. Among them, that change takes time and all things are interconnected.

"If we were to seek Earth justice, it would serve social justice, the environment, children and old people -- it's all so interconnected," Knight said. "You want to see results, but its very incremental. It's also true that eventually any one thing affects everything else. There's a lot of faith involved in taking action."

While Knight continues to push for an end to the war in Iraq and a change in U.S. foreign policy in Colombia, she's looking closer to home to reduce consumption of natural resources -- an effort she says must involve a change in the way Americans live.

Such grassroots efforts are slowly catching on. Whatever the approach, Knight says, reducing our carbon footprint is a place to start.

"It's bit by bit, but we're really seeing a shift," she said. "I think more people are recognizing that we can't go on as we have been."

This is where Knight's decision to leave the Holter Museum and her pursuit of art collide. She talks about sustainable agriculture and sustainable living.

In fact, "sustainable" is the key to a lot of what drives her forward. "Sustainable" prompts her to tackle issues that cause others to roll their eyes or shrug their shoulders in apathy.

"I think it's time to pull out all the stops," Knight said. "The earth is in trouble and I believe that human activity is the cause. I think art is a very powerful tool for raising consciousness and stimulating dialogue."

Knight's philosophy is rooted in the life she lives. She wears little if any makeup. Her jewelry is not forged from metal, but rather from beads and leather. She drives a Toyota Prius and gets upwards of 45 miles per gallon.

But these are all superficial things, she might say. It's the day-to-day efforts to achieve change, even if change comes painfully slow, that count the most.

"In order for something to become meaningful to you, there has to be enough familiarity for it to resonate," said Knight. "You remember those things that really jolt you to another level."

For Knight, that jolt occurred in 1990 when she traveled to Nicaragua to work as an official election observer.

She and other volunteers spent their day watching voters walk to the election site. They spent the night holding lanterns while officials counted the votes.

"I saw 1,000 people come to a one-room schoolhouse to vote over the course of one day," she said. "They stood in line for up to eight hours after walking since pre-dawn, over the mountains for hours, just to cast their ballot. They believed they could participate in a political process that would shape their future."

The event was life altering.

"I came back totally politicized, believing we have to take back our own country and create the kind of society we want, and use our political process," Knight said. "I don't think we can blame our problems on our political government unless we really try to participate and shape it."

Reporter Martin Kidston: 447-4086 or mkidston@helenair.com