Reports from fall gathering at the Nevada Test Site and resistance to subcritical nuclear testing
by Fred H. Richards

The ongoing struggle by the Western Shoshone Nation to regain occupancy and use of ancestral lands and end nuclear weapons testing at Mercury, Nevada, continued over Columbus Day weekend. The current event, Healing Global Wounds' 7th Annual fall gathering, was led by representative Western Shoshone leaders of Healing Global Wounds, an alliance of organizations and individuals seeking return of lands mapped and recognized by formal treaty with the U.S. government in Ruby Valley in 1863. Historic symbolism of selecting the anniversary of the first European invasion of the Western Hemisphere prompted selection of October 12, now known as Indigenous People's Day, to emphasize the three day event. The program included teaching sessions for attenders with history, orientation, and discussions of nonviolent civil disobedience. During the last night, after successful avoidance of guards and electronic sensors, an unknown volunteer had crossed the fence, several miles of desert, climbed the rocky mountain above Mercury, and erected the Shoshone flag.

Daily sunrise ceremony, incense and the Sweat Lodge ceremony were followed by the final predawn gathering around a symbolic fire, with traditional incense purification and the march to the main gate of the atomic test site. Heading the march were Corbin Harney, Ian Zabarte and other members of the Western Shoshone Nation. The beat of the drum and the Western Shoshone Marshall carrying his national flag, together with banners and signs demanding return of seized territory and the end of atomic tests and pollution, dignified the action.

Armed guards of the Wackenhut Corporation and several deputy sheriffs of Nye County awaited the petitioners. The marchers stood quietly while Ian Zabarte read to the police and Wackenhut guards the history of the illegal occupation of the land, and the verdict of the International Court of Justice pronouncing the development and use of atomic bombs as contrary to international law. A peace offering of prayer ties was then presented, for the third year in a row, to the senior police official. Cessation of testing and return of the test site to its legal owners, the Western Shoshone Nation, was demanded. This was refused, and civil disobedience began.

In disciplined sequence, the front rows of marchers crossed the white line boundary. Wackenhut guards began to seize individuals, place nylon handcuffs on their wrists, and lead them to the wire pens. Promptly the reserve line sat down across the road, blocking it to all traffic. These were next attacked by the camouflage-wearing private guards (they have no name, badge, nor identifying number) and while some protesters were slung into the ditch, others were heaved into the back of a pickup truck and driven to the cages, and still others carried or dragged there.

The wire pens were floored with bare desert, their furniture consisting only of a chemical toilet and a small empty table. There was no water, nor shelter from the sun. Lest those held be seen from the main highway, plywood covered the wire on that side, and also the fence separating the men's cage from the women's cage.

Twenty-three people were cited and released, "not to appear until called." The Nevada trespass statute reads that "its terms are not applicable to any Indian Territories without their permission" (italics added).

Protesters returned to camp by late morning, and gathered in the conference tent to review what had transpired. Statements on what went well, what didn't and needed improvement, and suggestions for organization of the next demonstration were discussed before breaking for a late lunch, packing up the tents, and saying goodbyes. The next major protest is scheduled for Mother's Day, 1999. (see Future Actions)

For more information, contact Healing Global Wounds, POB 3518, Freedom, CA 95003; (after December 20th: POB 420, Tecopa CA 92389) (831)661-0445; email: hgw@scruznet.com Web: http://www.shundahai.org/HGW/ and also Shundahai Network, 5007 Elmhurst Lane, Las Vegas, NV 89108 (702)647-3095; email: shundahai@shundahai.org Web: http://www.shundahai.org

- from Shundahai Network and other reports

The second U.S. subcritical nuclear weapons test of 1998 was exploded at 3:07 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on Saturday, September 26. Members of the Western Shoshone Nation, Shundahai Network, Alliance of Atomic Veterans, Las Vegas Food Not Bombs, Nevada Desert Experience, Citizens for Alternatives to Nuclear Dumping (CARD), CHAOS, and PARANOIDS joined together to protest this hypocritical test.

Several pro-active demonstrations took place. On September 8, a couple who work with the Shundahai Network celebrated their first year anniversary by climbing to the top of the Foley Federal Building overhang, on the Las Vegas Strip, hanging two banners and locking down to each other. Refusing to move until the hypocritical nuclear test, "Bagpipe" was canceled, Reinard Knutsen and Susi Snyder remained on the overhang for several hours.

The police called in the fire department with a ladder and shut down the street in order to remove the activists. The police also created a "sterile zone" around the building and removed all of the media to the other side of the street, behind a palm dotted median where their view was blocked. The police tried to remove the supporters from below, but had a more difficult time. It was after the media were cleared away that the fire department brought out a saw to separate the two.

The couple were each given federal citations for "disturbance" and "non-conformity" and released. Trial is set for January 27 at the site of the action.

In San Francisco on September 9, there was a protest at the headquarters of the Nevada Test Site manager, Bechtel Corporation. Some protesters blocked the main entrance during the noon hour. Four people were arrested. Judith Wright of Casa de Clara Catholic Worker in San Jose and Cindy Pile of Nevada Desert Experience refused to sign their citation and spent the night in the city jail. Charges were dropped the next day. Mike Niece of Magdalene House Catholic Worker in Oakland and Bud Wright cited out following their arrest and charges are still pending.

On the day of the test, Corbin Harney, a Newe (Western Shoshone) elder and spiritual leader led a sunrise ceremony near the gates to the test site. This brought healing to the test site in the face of continued contamination.

After the ceremony the vigil was moved to the gate itself, and five people snuck behind the barbed wire fences heading into Mercury.

They were arrested about an hour later near the road leading to "Control Point" (where the button is pushed). One security guard said she knew the two women and three men were there "because of the hypocritical test" being done that day. The five were held at the test site for an hour, issued citations and released.

As this issue goes to press, preparations are underway to conduct the third subcritical test of the year, code-named Cimarron, within weeks. Safety violations due to poor design of the testing environment by Los Alamos engineers delayed this test in October, said one official. In the event of the test, protests are planned in Nevada, New Mexico, California, and Japan.

In Austin, Texas, Susan Lee Solar turned herself in on September 11 to serve five days in jail for a blockade at the federal building on June 30, 1997, days before the first subcritical test.

For more information, contact Shundahai Network, 5007 Elmhurst Lane, Las Vegas, NV 89108, (702)647-3095; email: shundahai@shundahai.org Web: http://www.shundahai.org