Symposium Keynote Presentation and Reception
Uranium Mining in the Southwest: Legacies of a Poisoned Past, Possibilities for Future Policy
Friday, April 29, 6:00PM, Cline Library Assembly Hall
Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff
Free Admission
For more information visit, nau.edu/symposium
The Symposium reception will follow this event in the Beasley Art Gallery.
Award-winning journalist and guest author Judy Pasternak will talk about her book, Yellow Dirt: An American Story of a Poisoned Land and a People Betrayed. Pasternak’s book offers a timely and compelling look at the history of uranium mining in America’s southwest.
The evening will also include a panel of Northern Arizona University faculty and student researchers from across several academic disciplines—discussing the history, current university research, and public policy related to uranium mining.
Scheduled panelists include Dr. Jani Ingram (Associate Professor, Biochemistry); Dr. Abe Springer (Professor, Hydrogeology), Dr. Michael Amundson (Professor, History); and Dr. Linda Robyn (Associate Professor, Criminology and Criminal Justice). The panel will also include Hertha Woody, a native of Shiprock, NM who earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from NAU. Currently, she is the uranium campaign coordinator for the Grand Canyon Trust.
This timely event coincides with the Department of Interior’s request for public opinion and input on the proposed 20-year extension of the uranium mining moratorium in the Grand Canyon. The opportunity for public input will officially end on May 4, 2011. This informative talk will be one of the last opportunities to participate in a public discussion on this important topic before the May deadline.
Judy Pasternak will also be on hand prior to the event at 4:00p.m. to sign her book.
Guest Speaker and Panelist Bios
Judy Pasternak
Judy Pasternak received Stanford University’s 2007 James V. Risser Prize for Environmental Journalism. She is an energy editor in the Washington bureau of Bloomberg News. Previously, she worked 24 years as reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Her work has been honored by the Overseas Press Club, the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism and, as a finalist, the Goldsmith Award for Investigative Reporting.
Dr. Abe Springer
Dr. Abe Springer has been a professor in the Department of Geology since August 1994. He is the current director of the School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability. Abe teaches classes in hydrogeology, ground water-flow modeling, contaminant hydrogeology, introductory geology, and environmental geology. Abe has been working with other researchers to examine the sources and rates of water supplying springs and seeps of the Grand Canyon. He has testified before Congress and provided additional testimony last year (2010) to the U.S. House of Representatives National Parks subcommittee regarding the potential issues related to uranium mining near the Grand Canyon.
Dr. Jani Ingram
Dr. Janie Ingram is an associate professor in Department Chemistry and Biochemistry. She has been a co- leader on research projects for the Partnership for Native American Cancer Prevention. Jani and her students have been working on a long term project to understand the interactions between chronic uranium exposure and biological changes at the cellular level that may result in cancer. They are also exploring the relationship between cancer disparities for the Navajo Nation and chronic exposure to environmental uranium.
Dr. Michael Amundson
Dr. Michael Amundson is a professor in the Department of History. Michael’s research is on the Atomic Age in the American West. This area of study includes all things nuclear, incorporating such fields as community, environmental, cultural, social, political, and scientific history. He is the co-editor of the Atomic History and Culture series with the University Press of Colorado. His most recent publications include a book on uranium mining towns in the West and an article on the Orphan Lode Uranium Mine in Grand Canyon National Park.
Dr. Linda Robyn
Dr. Linda Robyn is an associate professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Her areas of interest and expertise include: American Indians and the Crime Justice System, Environmental Justice and Minority People, and State-Corporate Crime. Linda recently published her work “State-Corporate Crime on the Navajo Nation: Human Consumption of Contaminated Waters.” In 2010, Linda hosted a round table discussion at the Western Social Science Association to talk about the issue of uranium mining, and the impact that corporate-government practices can have on human health and communities.
Hertha Woody
Hertha Woody is of the Diné (Navajo) Nation. She grew up on the Navajo reservation in Shiprock NM. Hertha earned her BS and a Masters in Secondary Education at NAU. She worked two years with the Native American Cancer Research Program at NAU as an undergraduate researcher in Diane Stearns laboratory studying the effects of how uranium interacts with DNA to cause mutations that may lead to cancer. Currently, Hertha is the uranium campaign coordinator at Grand Canyon Trust. She has been working closely with several tribes (Havasupai, Hualapai, Navajo, Hopi and Kaibab Paiute) in the northern Arizona region to promote awareness about uranium mining at the Grand Canyon.
