Downwinders

Half of the crew and eight people in the cast of the movie, The Conqueror, starring John Wayne, died of cancers that some people claim were a direct result of being exposed to radiation after the A-bomb tests held at the now infamous, Nevada Test Site.

A popular newspaper column that carries the motto, "Fighting ignorance since 1973 (it's taking longer than we thought)", written by Cecil Adams is called, “The Straight Dope”. This question-and-answer column, which is also available online, gets syndicated in both the United States and Canada. The author takes on questions from the general public surrounding a variety of subjects such as history and science, even reaching out to superstitions and urban legends. Mr. Adams often boasts to being able to answer any and all questions. In the article from 1984, Did John Wayne die of cancer caused by a radioactive movie set? a reader inquires about an incident regarding John Wayne, cancer, and a Nevada A-bomb test. The following is the actual question posed in the original article,

“My girlfriend says that half of the film crew and eight of the cast of the movie The Conqueror starring John Wayne died of cancer after an A-bomb test in Nevada. It can't be the truth — that many people — can it?” (Adams 1980)

However, there is nuance hidden in between the lines of that question posed by the reader which must be carefully examined, or there might be an impulse to draw connections based on assumption, rather than evidence.

Why Do Native Americans Celebrate Indepedence Day? Should They?

For most Americans, the Fourth of July is a time for getting together with friends and families. Much like any other holiday, often the meaning behind these celebrations get lost over time. When placed under closer scrutiny, it appears that Independence Day is not a celebration for quite everybody. Many tribes of indigenous people lived on this land for generations before any of the Founding Fathers even thought about writing a Declaration of Independence. For some Native American people, it marks the decline of their own people’s unique culture in America.

Life on the Rez: America's Crumbling Infrastructure

The article by Eliza Grisworld titled, A Teen’s Third World America, discusses the conditions on, and surrounding Native American reservations, specifically bringing to light some of the issues with infrastructure and the “third-world like conditions” found on some U.S. reservations, through the telling of a story about a boy named E.J. Montoya, a 16 year old member of the Santa Ana Pueblo, who travels nearly 80 miles a day in order to attend a public school called the Native American Community Academy, which is set up specifically for the Native Americans. In the article, the author sums up that sentiment with the following statement,

“Montoya's short life story is the unsung tale of America's crumbling infrastructure—bridges, roads, drinking water, sewage lines, and the list goes on. Essentially, everything we rely on to move through our daily lives, and never stop to consider—until it breaks down.”

This article really hit home with me, eerily reflecting some of my own personal experiences living on the Fort Apache reservation, located in the White Mountains of Eastern Arizona. Much like E.J., I also had to tread through some rather treacherous terrain and the harsh conditions in the winter, often exposing the vulnerabilities within our reservations' system. The blizzard-like conditions of winter in the White Mountains of Eastern Arizona would make walking to or from school rather tricky, and potentially dangerous if you lost your way. But, treading through the mud, not even muddy roads, but plain mud on a mountain mixed with forest and scary darkness. While the scarcity of street lights makes for some awe inspiring nightscapes of a starry lit sky, it can also induce some seemingly frightful experiences.