News from Inchon Country
Pgge 6 Spilygy Tymoo
July 30, 2009
Navajos mark 30th anniversary of uranium spill
CHURCH RO CK, N.M.
(AP) - The leader o f the Na
vajo Nation marked the 30th
anniversary of a massive ura
nium tailings spill by reaffirm
ing the tribe's ban on future ura
nium mining.
Speaking in Navajo and En
glish, President Joe Shirley Jr.
addressed about 100 people
who made a seven-mile walk
Thursday to the site o f the July
16, 1979 spill and to the land
o f Navajo ranchers who live
near an o th er contam inated
site.
What Shirley called “the larg
est peacetime accidental release
o f radioactive contam inated
materials in the history of the
United States” occurred when
94 million gallons of acidic wa
ter poured into the north fork
o f the Rio Puerco after an
earthen uranium tailings dam
failed.
Within days, contaminated
ta ilin gs liquid was found 50 miles
downstream in Arizona.
Shirley said the spill— the
same year as the Three Mile Is
land accident in Pennsylvania—
barely registered on the con
sciousness of the United States
but will not be forgotten by the
by Navajo and non-Navajo resi
dents “who still worry today
about the potential impacts of
this tragic accident.”
It also helped mobilize the
effort that resulted in the Na
vajo Nation's 2005 ban on ura
nium mining and processing
until adverse economic, environ
mental and human health effects
from past uranium activities are
eliminated or substantially re
duced to the satisfaction of the
Navajo Nation Council, Shirley
said.
“We will stand our ground
until the terms of the Dine (Na
vajo) Natural Resources Protec
tion Act are met,” he said.
Substantial progress has been
made in cleaning up one site, the
Northeast Church Rock mine,
Shirley said.
But, he said, the U.S. Envi
ronmental Protection Agency
wants to move the bulk of that
contam inated m aterial to a
nearby Superfund site at a
former United Nuclear Corp,
mine. That, the Navajo presi
dent said, would not be consid
ered a final solution by the Na
vajo tribe.
Shirley proclaimed July 16 as
Uranium Legacy and Action
Day, commemorating the 30th
anniversary of the Church Rock
spill and 60 years of uranium
mining impacts.
“The American people need
to be educated and reminded
about the disproportionate sac
rifices made by Navajos so the
United States of America could
win the Cold War,” he said.
Back at the Church Rock
chapter house after the formal
ceremonies, area Navajos talked
about problems they blame on
the spill. They talked about fa
thers, mothers, uncles, aunts and
friends who died of kidney dis
ease or cancer. They also talked
about sick livestock and sheep
found to have yellow intestines
Native contracts focus of Senate committee hearing
A N C H O R A G E , Alaska
(AP) — The preferences that
some Alaskan Native-owned
business corporations receive
when competing for billions of
dollars in government contracts
is under scrutiny. The Senate
Subcommittee on Contracting
Oversight held a hearing Thurs
day in which the rules that ap
ply to the groups — called Alaska
N ative corporations — were
challenged. The subcommittee
is chaired by M issouri Sen.
Claire McCaskill, a Democrat,
who says she wants to make sure
the federal government is get
ting the best deal for taxpayers.
when butchered.
The community's concerns
have been heighten by renewed
interest in the last couple of
years in uranium mining.
New Mexico was a leading
producer of uranium from the
1950s into the 1980s, when the
price o f uranium plummeted
and mines and mills closed. The
era's legacy remains in hundreds
of abandoned uranium mines in
New Mexico and the Navajo
Nation.
Uranium mined from the
1940s into the 1970s went to
the nation's defense, and many
say that history obligates the fed-
Man in
artifacts case
denied release
eral government to help reclaim
areas the mines damaged.
There have been no signifi
cant water quality studies of the
Rio Puerco since the late 1980s
or early 1990s, said Chris Shuey
of the Southwest Research and
Information Center, an Albu
querque-based environmental
organization.
Studies have shown high ra
dioactivity in runoff and flood
waters, but “whether that can be
traced to mining has not been
determined,” he said.
Impacts downstream are less
certain, he said.
SALT LAKE CITY
(AP) — A Utah man ac
cused o f retaliating
against an informant in an
investigation o f theft of
American Indian artifacts
has been ordered to re
main in custody.
The D eseret News
says 44-year-old Charles
D enton A rm strong, of
Blanding, was ordered to
remain jailed because of
his criminal history, men
tal-health issues and his
tory of use and misuse of
medication.
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Public notice
Community events
Upcoming summer youth activities
Youth and families are invited
by 4-H and OSU Extension to
come and help with the commu
nity garden at 5:30 p.m. every
other Wednesday: July 22, and
August 5, 12 and 26.
For details, call Edmund at
553-0118, or Fara at OSU Ex
tension, 553-3238.
4-H is also planning some
field trips this summer:
A u g u st 4: Fossil trip to
Hancock Field Station near Fos
sil, grades 5-8.
A ugust 11: Trip to windmill
farm, grades 5-8.
Recreation field trips
The Recreation Department
will also be hosting field trips
this summer:
July 16: Timberline hiking,
for ages 10 and over. Free. Bring
hiking shoes, sack lunch, spend
ing money.
July 23: Oaks Park, Milwau
kee. Cost: $8.75/bracelet. Bring
sack lunch and spending money.
A u g u s t 6: B end Lava
C aves/D rake Park: $ 5 /lan -
tern. Bring sack lunch and
spending money.
Living Traditions demonstrations
T he M useum at Warm
Springs will present the Living
Traditions program through
early September.
The Living Traditions live
educational demonstrations are
on Saturdays and Sundays,
from 1 to 5 p.m. The schedule
of demonstrations is as follows:
August 1-2: Cedar bark bas
ketry, presen ted by Viola
Kalama.
A ugust 8-9: Tule mat weav
ing, presented by Adeline Miller.
A ugust 15-16: Drum mak-
ing, p resented by E m erson
Squiemphen.
August 22-23: Beaded vçsts
and buckskin gloves, presented
by Brigette Whipple.
A ugust 29-30: Oral history
and family tree, presented by
Dallas Winishut Jr.
Septem ber 5-6: First foods
and family heirlooms, presented
by Darlene Foster.
If you would like more in
formation, please call the Mu
seum at Warm Springs at 553-
3331.
N otice is hereby given
tha t the E arly intervention
Early Childhood Special Edu
ca tio n progra m o f W arm
Springs will destroy all spe
cial education student records
that are no longer needed in
regards to providing educa
tional services. Records will
be d e stro ye d fo r child re n
who received services any
tim e p rio r to th e 2008-09
school year.
Please note that this does
not include the student’s per
manent record, which must
be maintained indefinitely by
local school districts. (OAR
581-22-717).
For purposes of claiming
Social Security, or other ben
efits, parents may need spe
cial education records. If you
w ish to obtain the special
education records mentioned
ab ove,
p le a se
c o n ta c t
Samantha Gomez at the Warm
Springs Early Childhood Edu
cation Center, 553-3241.
The next deadline to
submit an item fo r pub
lication is Friday, August
7. Thank you!
0101 • I
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