White Mesa Concerned Community
protectwhitemesa.org
MEDIA ADVISORY – September 17, 2024
Contacts:
Yolanda Badback, White Mesa Concerned Community, (435) 459-2461, ybadback427@gmail.com
Bradley Angel, Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice, (415) 722-5270, bradley@greenaction.org
Photos (free for media use): https://photos.app.goo.gl/cBmdPEtaoQ6synZPA
White Mesa Ute Spiritual Walk Protests Uranium Mill Where Grand Canyon Uranium Ore and International Radioactive Waste Sent for Processing
What: A rally and spiritual walk to protect the White Mesa Ute community’s health, water, air, land, culture, and sacred sites from the nearby White Mesa uranium mill and show community opposition to the mill operating as an international dumping ground for radioactive waste from North America, Japan, and Europe. The mill, owned by Energy Fuels Resources, is also where uranium ore from the company’s Pinyon Plain Mine (formerly Canyon Mine), near the Grand Canyon, is sent for processing. The protest and walk are sponsored by the White Mesa Concerned Community and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. All relatives and allies welcome.
When: Saturday, October 12, 2024, 11 a.m. MDT rally followed by spiritual walk to the White Mesa uranium mill. About five miles on flat pavement. Wear comfortable shoes and bring plenty of water. Limited number of vehicle seats available for elders and those not able to walk the whole way.
Where: The White Mesa Ute Community Center in White Mesa, Utah, just south of Blanding, Utah off Highway 191. The community center is on the west side of the highway. Turn west at the gas station and go one block south.
Why: The Ute Mountain Ute community of White Mesa and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe are concerned about contamination from the nearby uranium mill and desecration of sacred sites and cultural resources.
Quotes:
“I want our community to be free of radiation. I want our kids to be growing up in a good environment.” –Yolanda Badback, White Mesa Concerned Community cofounder.
“We’re concerned about the health of our young ones and our elderly in our Ute community. We are concerned about the pollution of our well water. We used to hunt for animals near our homes; we used to gather plants for baskets, and to eat. We don’t do that anymore. Radioactive waste from the lands of the Cherokee, Spokane, Muscogee, and many other nations, including international waste from Estonia and Japan, and uranium ore from the Grand Canyon area, near the Havasupai Tribe’s sacred mountain, has been sent to the mill in trucks across Navajo land. The mill pits tribes against tribes, and we don’t support that. We want the mill shut down and properly cleaned up. We want the mill and its contamination to be moved where it can’t hurt any living things. Please help us. We’re waiting and wanting justice.” –Anferny Badback, White Mesa Concerned Community
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White Mesa Concerned Community is a grassroots group of concerned citizens of the Ute Mountain Ute community of White Mesa, Utah, located south of the White Mesa uranium mill. We work to inform our people and protect our community, health, water, air, land, culture, and sacred sites from toxic contamination.
The 2024 Rally and Spiritual Walk is sponsored by the White Mesa Concerned Community and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.
Event co-sponsors:
Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, Earthjustice, Earthworks, Grand Canyon Trust, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, HEAL Utah, Indigenous Environmental Network, Living Rivers, Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment, National Parks Conservation Association, PANDOS, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, University of Utah Environmental Justice Clinic, Uranium Watch, Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake, Utah Chapter of the Sierra Club, and Utah Diné Bikéyah.
