Sac and Fox Declare Tribal Lands "Nuclear Free Zone"
Special to News From Indian Country
Stroud, OK - The Sac and Fox Nation became the first tribe in
Oklahoma, August 28th, to declare a "Nuclear Free Zone" (NFZ) on
their tribal lands.
Based on a recommendation from the Sac and Fox Health
Commission, health commissioner Grace Thorpe introduced the motion
at the tribal meeting for the declaration which was passed
unanimously by members of the tribe present.
Mary Black Osborn of Ponca City, chairman of the Sac and Fox
Nation's Health Commission and a registered nurse, said, "As a
nurse, I am probably more aware of the threats to our environment.
If the environment is contaminated or polluted, we n the health
field are treating symptoms instead of getting at the real
problem."
The Sac and Fox join several other tribes in North America that
have declared their land to be nuclear free. The Salish and
Kootenai tribes of the Flathead Nation in Montana declared their
land free in 1984.
The Inuits of Alaska appealed to the United Nations to establish
a NFZ in the arctic in 1981.
In 1979 and 1981 the Cheyenne River Sioux of Eagle Butte, South
Dakota barred the location of nuclear waste sites within the
boundaries of the reservation and the White Mountain Apache of
Arizona passed a resolution August 18th in opposition to the
construction of a nuclear power plant in their area.
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"When we walk upon Mother Earth, we always plant our feet carefully
because we know the faces of our future generations are looking
up at us from beneath the ground. We never forget them."
-Oren Lyons, Onondaga Nation
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milo@scicom.alphacdc.com Michele Lord Alpha Institute
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