The Return of Navajo Boy Moving Audiences to Action JENNIFER AMDUR SPITZ Co-Founder [email protected] What We Found: Uranium Contamination 2 500+ Abandoned Mines Red dots mark mines discovered by the US EPA as of 2006 3 Homes made of radioactive rock 4 Contaminated Water 5 Cancer 6 Lack of Awareness Both inside and outside Navajo Nation 7 Cultural Divide Majority & Native Cultures 8 The Return of Navajo Boy Trailer 9 Groundswell Makes a Difference 10 Impact 1: Raising Awareness News About Navajo Uranium Issues 600 500 400 300 # of Articles 200 100 0 1980s 1990s 2000s Source: Google News Archives 11 “A Peril That Dwelt Among the Navajos” “Film Exposes Family, Land History” “Mystery in The Desert” “Navajo Man Finds Family After 41 Years” “Documentary Uncovers Health Catastrophe” “A Legacy of Uranium, a Prayer for Healing” “Navajo Boy Returns” “Film Works Healing Miracle of its Own” “A Good Example of Successful Activist Media” “Sundance Film Festival Applauds The Return of Navajo Boy” 13 Impact 2: Contaminated Homes US EPA investigates and demolishes “uranium houses,” starting with Elsie Mae Begay’s 14 Impact 3: Health Compensation Federal Legislation: Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) $100,000 payment to former miner Bernie Cly 16 Impact 4: Bridging the Gap Between Cultures 17 Impact 5: Uranium Clean Up 5-Year Plan Elsie’s story inspired Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) to order the five responsible federal agencies to work together and develop a plan 18 2011 - US EPA allocates $6 million to clean up the Skyline Mine and Elsie’s backyard 19 Groundswell’s Methodology The Return of Navajo Boy Screenings Sundance Film Festival (2000 Premiere) US Department of Energy Environmental Justice Conference Big Sky Documentary Festival California State - Fullerton Popular Culture Association & American Culture Association Siskiyou Environmental Film Festival Native Visions Film Festival Conference Mashantucket Pequot Museum University of Utah Sapatq'ayn Cinema Film Festival INPUT in the USA Santa Fe Film Festival The Public Interest Environmental Law Conference Hirschhorn Museum, Environmental Film Festival Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Outreach Event Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the US Geological Survey Wilkinson Public Library American Indian Native American Film & Video Festival Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission Museum of Modern Art American Anthropological Association Conference Oregon State University Columbia College Chicago Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema University of Chicago Toronto International Environmental Film Fest American Indian Film & Video Festival Columbia College Chicago Festival of Narrative Arts Texas Union Theatre University of Wisconsin Center for Culture, History and George Eastman House San Jose State University Environment Peabody Essex Museum Durango Film Society Westminster College Lewis & Clark College Denver International Film Festival SLC Indian Walk-In Center University of Michigan Mill Valley Film Festival SLC Public Library University of New Mexico Navajo Studies Conference Many Nations Longhouse Dartmouth College Chicago Historical Society Diné College Screening Honolulu Academy of Arts NAES College, Chicago The Environmental Law & Policy Center Docupolis Film Festival American Indian Center Indian Health Service Awareness Event Mesa Verde Nat'l Park Old Town School of Folk Music Auditorium Amnesty International Human Rights Film Festival Association of Health Physicists Reel Aboriginal Voices Film Fest Rough Rock Trading Post First People's Festival University of Chicago Daley College, Chicago University of California American Indian Center, Chicago Dine College Uranium Ed Program Cape Town Eastern Connecticut State University The American Indian Christian Mission Northeastern Illinois University Alamo Drafthouse The University of Chicago Northern Illinois University Arizona Film Festival The University of Illinois at Chicago Shiprock Campus of Dine College Nations Hall Arizona Film Festival Miami U's Native American Film Festival Flagstaff, AZ du Bois Center Ballroom, NAU south Navajo Nation Museum Capitol Hill campus University of New Mexico Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival University of New Mexico, Albuquerque Monument Valley High School Sedgewick Cultural Center Albuquerque Public Library (Albuquerque, NM) Post Effects, Chicago Stars in the Desert Festival Durango Film Festival The Public Interest Environmental Law Conference US Department of Energy Environmental Justice Conference The Return of Navajo Boy Screenings Not Pictured: Screenings in Hawaii, Germany, Spain, France, South Africa, Brazil 22 Live Events, Conferences, Panel Discussions, Talk Shows Free Curriculum for Schools 24 Advocacy Cross-cultural and face to face communication 25 Webisodes: The Story Continues www.navajoboy.com/webisodes NavajoBoy.com Website 27 Facebook 28 Collaborations: Diné College 29 Collaborations: Indian Health Service 30 Collaborations: Northwestern University 31 Navajo Water Website www.NavajoWater.org Next Steps 33 Continue Educating and Advocating • Book screenings & speakers • E-newsletter and join online community • Advocate to fund 5-year plan • Keep uranium in the news 34 Local Issues, Universal Stories • Cross cultural communication • Story-telling through film • Empowering local voices JENNIFER AMDUR SPITZ Co-Founder [email protected].