photo by Hideko Otake
from a report by John Amidon
On April 3, Good Friday, at the conclusion of the Sacred Peace Walk, five activists crossed the boundary line leading into the Nevada nuclear test site in Mercury. Despite having the permission of the Western Shoshone nation*, they were arrested and charged with trespass.
Prior to the action, a moving Sunrise Ceremony held nearby was led by Western Shoshone spiritual person Johnnie Bobb with Jeremiah Jones assisting. As a beautiful full moon set in the West, the warming sun rose in the East, bringing forth a new day filled with light and hope as the Sacred Peace Walkers prayed and danced as they listened to Johnnie and Jeremiah’s singing and chanting.
After the ceremony, the peace walkers proceeded to the tunnel, painting creative, artistic expression for nuclear disarmament and longed-for world peace. At around noon, the Nuclear Stations of the Cross were led by Julia Occhiogrosso and the Las Vegas Catholic Worker. Then the last steps of the seven day peace walk took the group to the white line of the test site, where Nye County Sheriffs were waiting.
The following activists were arrested after crossing the line:
Samuel Chawla-Rios, Princeton, NJ
Anthony Donovan, New York, NY
Markayla Love, Memphis, TN
Brian Terrell, Maloy, IA
Barbara West, Corvallis, OR
* In 1951, the U.S. government took the land from the Western Shoshone in violation of the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley, conducting more than 1000 atmospheric and underground nuclear tests there. Underground tests stopped in 1992. Subcritical tests are still taking place at the site.
photo by Hideko Otake