Acoma to host uranium forum

Published Thursday, September 17, 2009 4:49 PM MDT

ACOMA PUEBLO - An intertribal group, which opposes the resumption of uranium mining in the Grants Mineral Belt, will conduct a forum on Oct. 22-22 at the Sky City Casino Hotel.

The Seventh Indigenous Uranium Forum will address the prospect of renewed uranium mining in the Grants area as well as the proposal to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

Some recent energy proposals emphasizing the use of nuclear power as a partial solution to global warming threats have led to renewed fervor in the uranium mining sector.

Because many of the negative aspects of uranium mining have adversely affected Native peoples disproportionately to their numbers in the greater population, the Indigenous Uranium Forum was organized in 1987 to address issues facing native communities.

The forum will focus on uranium developments being proposed near Mount Taylor and throughout the Grants Mineral belt, but will also address the health aspects of uranium mining, the implications of U.S. energy policy as well as opportunities afforded by the emerging green economy.

The forum will also offer opportunities for indigenous communities to network, organize and strategize.

During the past 22 years, the forum has developed into a vehicle for strategy development and coordination among the communities affected along the whole process of nuclear power from uranium mining to waste disposal.

Look for an in-depth story on the Seventh Indigenous Uranium Forum in next Tuesday's Beacon.

For more information visit www.siuf.net/index.html.