Gathering for Mother Earth To Be Held this Weekend, September 23 and 24 and
Draft LANL SWEIS Public Comment Period Still Open

Gathering for Mother Earth To Be Held this Weekend, September 23 and 24

Tewa Women United, along with many other community organizations, welcome all communities to bring their families and friends to the 10th Annual Gathering for Mother Earth. The Gathering will be held on Saturday, September 23rd and Sunday, September 24th, from sunrise to sun set, at Pojoaque Ben's Gathering Grounds, on Highway 502 in Pojoaque, New Mexico.

The Gathering is an event which brings together community based organizations and grass roots activists living in and around United States military and nuclear weapons sites in New Mexico, the country and throughout the world. The Gathering raises environmental awareness about radiation, transportation and health risks, while nurturing and encouraging the healing of the mind, heart and spirit.

Activities will include healing arts, ecological safety information, drumming circles, Tsankawi Relay Run, health related information sharing, raffle prizes, solar cooking and produce, arts and crafts, alternative energy and activities for youth. The Saturday evening communal meal entrees will include traditional foods such as the "three sisters," beans, corn and squash, as well as buffalo and salmon.

The Tsankawi Relay Run will begin at the Pojoaque PowWow Grounds just after the sunrise ceremony around 6:30. If you are interested in participating in the run, then please contact Tewa Women United by phone at (505) 747-3259, or email at tewawomen@cybermesa.com

A representative of Tewa Women United described this year's Gathering as focused on "giving love and thanks to the spirit of the oneness in water. Mother Earth and her life givers need loving care to support us on our life journeys. Now is the CRITICAL time for female energy/wisdom to unite for eco-systemic sustenance to ignite global PEACE and stop the violence against Mother Earth. We encourage all cultures, all ages, schools, communities and families to bring intergenerational thinking to this wholistic event. Come prepared to participate in revitalizing beloved community energy to nurture all relations. Watch the life of the river return."

Draft LANL SWEIS Public Comment Period Still Open

Comments are still being accepted regarding the Draft Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for Los Alamos National Laboratory (SWEIS). The draft SWEIS recommends quadrupling plutonium pit production, the core of a nuclear bomb such as the one the United States dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, and states that there will be no disproportionate adverse health impacts from the increase in nuclear weapons activities.

Elizabeth Withers, Department of Energy Manager for the SWEIS stated, "all comments that I receive by September 30th will be considered in the preparation of the Final SWEIS. Any comments received after that point will receive consideration to the extent practicable." Withers recommends submitting comments after September 20th by email to LANL_SWEIS@doeal.gov or by fax to 505.667.5948.

Sample comments and more information are available here

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