Tags - Keywords - Related To This Film
Water, Uranium, Radioactive, Spokane River, Sovereignty, Deb Abrahamson, Spokane Tribe, Salmon, Sacred, Grand Coulee Dam, Genocide, Reparations, Creator, Indian, Eel, Blue Creek, Little Falls Dam,
Health, Superfund, SHAWL Society, Midnite Mine, Spokane Indian Reservation, Pollution, Indigenous, Healing, Toxic Waste, Ceremony, Radiation, Sherwood Mine, Chamokane Creek, Uranium Mining, Life, Land, Lake Roosevelt, Culture, Tribal Culture, Air, CELP, Reparations to Indians,
Spokane Tribe of Indians, Healing Ceremony, Radioactive Fish, Radioactive Food, Sierra Club, Upper Columbia River Group, Center for Environmental Law & Policy, Voices for Water, Watershed Hero, Traditional foods, Fish, Contaminated Fish, Radioactive Waste,
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, EPA, Newmont Mining, Dawn Mining Company, Open Pit, Environmental Protection Agency, Superfund site, CERCLA, RECA, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington Department of Ecology, Department of Health and Human Services, ATSDR, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry,U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Justice, BLM, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Ford Uranium Mill, Ford Mill, Atomic Energy Act, Uranium Mill Tailings Reclamation and Conservation Act, Northwest Tribes, Wellpinit, Radioactive Wildlife,, Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, Eastern Washington, First Foods, White camas, Lomatium canbyi, Carlotte Corral, Chico Corral, Cold War, Cold War era, storage of atmospheric nuclear weapons tests,
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Water Is Life - It's Sacred (27minutes)
In Water Is Life - It's Sacred, Deb Abrahamson speaks about her life work - the restoration of Spokane Tribal lands, water and society.
She speaks of the abundance before the dams, uranium mining, boarding schools and forces of genocide.
Deb founded the SHAWL Society to right these wrongs and build on the strengths of traditional life ways.
Water Is Life - It's Sacred
Deb Abrahamson - SHAWL Society
http://www.Water-Life-Sacred.com
Hear Indian elders, the salmon and generations unborn through Deb's voice.
See the beauty of the Spokane Tribal land near the Spokane River shore through her eyes.
Listen to Indian people anxiously awaiting and then celebrating salmon's return through Deb's heart.
Waters and lands are sacred. Salmon are the life source for everyone in the greater tribal region for thousands of years.
Watch the toxic pollution of the land and water come as the dams are built and deadly uranium is mined by digging giant open pits in tribal land, through Deb's stories from her people.
Each dam stopped more salmon from coming home until no salmon could come home. People grew sick, many did not regain their health, some died. Genocide loomed large for people who depend on the land and rivers.
Deb recounts her journey too. What seemed a short path for healing became a journey for justice and nurturing. She transformed herself and blossomed into a leader: changing history for the better and becoming a voice for justice on behalf of the many unheard voices - the sick and young, past and future generations, the land and the River.
This film is available free for public access TV stations to download and broadcast from PEGMedia.org . Phone your local public access station and ask them to download and broadcast this film for your community to see.
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News Release: Water Is Life - It's Sacred - New Film Release
  News Advisory February 16, 2012
"Water is Life - it's Sacred"
New film is released about uranium mining pollution on the Spokane Indian Reservation, and the efforts of local Tribal members to protect an Indian culture in peril 
Deb Abrahamson - S.H.A.W.L. Society
Click here to watch new film (28 minutes) Hear Indian elders, the salmon and generations unborn through Deb's voice. See the beauty of the Spokane Tribal land near the Spokane River shore through her eyes. Listen to Indian people anxiously awaiting and then celebrating salmon's return through Deb's heart. Waters and lands are sacred. Salmon are the life source for everyone in the greater tribal region for thousands of years. Watch the toxic pollution of the land and water come as the dams are built and deadly uranium is mined by digging giant open pits in tribal land, through Deb's stories from her people. Each dam stopped more salmon from coming home until no salmon could come home. People grew sick, many did not regain their health, some died. Genocide loomed large for people who depend on the land and rivers. Deb recounts her journey too. What seemed a short path for healing became a journey for justice and nurturing. She transformed herself and blossomed into a leader: changing history for the better and becoming a voice for justice on behalf of the many unheard voices - the sick and young, past and future generations, the land and the River. This film is available free for public access TV stations to download and broadcast from PEGMedia.org. Phone your local public access station and ask them to download and broadcast this film for your community to see. Related news: Sierra Club's Upper Columbia River Group honors Deb Abrahamson with Spokane Watershed Hero Award. Click here. Links: |
Monday, February 13, 2012
Deb Abrahamson Honored For Protecting Spokane River
| News Advisory February 14, 2012 Two women honored for protecting Spokane River, Aquifer Deb Abrahamson working to clean up uranium mine wastes on Spokane Indian Reservation; Mary Verner advocated for aquifer protection and water stewardship.
What: Winter Waters – 2012, an annual event celebrating the Spokane River and Aquifer, honors citizens who have led efforts to protect and restore these waters. The event is hosted by the Upper Columbia River Group – Sierra Club, and the Center for Environmental Law & Policy (CELP). A sonnet written by poet and filmmaker Sherman Alexie honoring Deb Abrahamson will be read at the event. When: Saturday, February 18, 6:30 – 10 p.m. Where: Patsy Clark Mansion (2208 W. Second Ave) Spokane Who: Honoree: Mary Verner – distinguished Spokane Mayor and City Councilwoman, 2004 – 2011 Honoree: Deb Abrahamson – founder of the tribal grassroots environmental organization S.H.A.W.L. Society Tickets: $25. (for more information on the event, people may call 509.209-2899) Links: Event sponsors: Eyman, Allison, Hunter, Jones P.S., EnviroScience, Water Sentinels of Sierra Club, Fred Christ Painting |
Background
Each year the Upper Columbia River Group - Sierra Club and CELP host Winter Waters, celebrating the Spokane River and Aquifer. This event honors and highlights citizens who have taken extraordinary steps to protect the waters upon which our communities depend. This year, we are proud to announce two exceptional women, Deb Abrahamson and Mary Verner, as our 2012 Spokane Watershed Heroes.
Deb Abrahamson is a member of the Spokane Tribe, and founder and director of the grassroots advocacy organization, SHAWL Society. SHAWL (standing for Sovereignty, Health Air, Water, Land) Society is located on the Spokane Indian Reservation.
Its primary mission is to promote community education and strategies to address radiation contamination and exposure on the Spokane Reservation.
Radiation contamination on the Spokane Reservation? It surprises many to learn that Dawn Mining Co. exploited uranium deposits on the Reservation between 1955 and 1981. They left behind millions of tons of waste rock and toxic ore. Open pits are filled with contaminated wastewater, which drains above and below ground into Blue Creek, which discharges into the Spokane Arm of Lake Roosevelt.
Deb Abrahamson is a powerful voice seeking justice for tribal members who have been exposed to Dawn Mining’s toxic legacy. She speaks eloquently of the need to maintain traditional food gathering and other lifeways and the conflicts caused when rock, air, water, vegetation, fish and wildlife are contaminated with uranium waste. Sierra Club salutes Deb for her vision, and for her personal commitment to speak to fundamental issues of environmental justice and caring for the people of the Spokane Reservation.
Mary Verner served on the City Council and as Spokane mayor from 2003 – 2011, and is a long-time advocate for the Spokane watershed. Mary came to the Spokane area in 1992, and founded the Spokane Tribe’s Natural Resources Department. She served as director of the regional tribal consortium, Upper Columbia United Tribes. She was appointed to Spokane City Council in 2003 and served in that position and as mayor through 2011.
As an elected official, Mary took many actions to promote protection of the Spokane Aquifer, drinking water source for our region’s half-million residents and the Spokane River. From establishing a Sustainability Task Force to her deep commitment to water conservation and stewardship, Mary has been a tenacious advocate for the River and Aquifer. In recognizing Mary Verner as a Spokane Watershed Hero, we thank her for her service to our community and welcome her next steps, which will undoubtedly reflect her continued commitment to environmental protection and restoration.
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