SHUNDAHAI NETWORK

P.O. Box 51137, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20091-1137
PHONE: (202) 588-0912 FAX: (202) 588-5316
["shundahai": peace and harmony with all of creation]

February 8, 1996

DEDICATED TO BREAKING THE NUCLEAR CHAIN

Dear Friends,

It was great to participate with you in the recent Nuclear Abolition 2000 Network meeting. The Shundahai Network Staff Collective was excited to attend and present in detail, the organizing efforts that have gone into the creation of the Nuclear Abolition Summit (NAS) Las Vegas on April 1-4 and Nuclear Abolition Day of Action (NADA) April 8.

We were happy to see that there was so much enthusiasm and interest in the Summit. An information package was distributed which we hope everyone has had a chance to look over. We look forward to receiving your filled out questionnaire on the Summit Agenda to help us in our planning process.

After a brief presentation of the Summit Goals and logistics, some time was spent on facilitating a discussion of some personal issues between Nathan Phillips of Native Youth Alliance and some of the volunteers of Shundahai Network. Since it was agreed at the meeting that the issues pertaining to the Shundahai Network would be best addressed by a separate conference call involving the organizing committee, this letter will address the Nuclear Abolition Summit.

Listed below are a few points of interest which we were unable to specifically talk about at the meeting.

* The Nuclear Abolition Summit will open an office in Las Vegas in the first week of March. The purpose of the office will be to complete ground level logistical organizing for the NAS, registration follow up and outreach to local groups and to the media. The office space is being donated by Citizen Alert and will be staffed by a group of volunteers including Reinard Knutsen, Stephanie Fraser, Glenn Hazelet and Sarah Seeds. The Shundahai Network will continue to use its DC office to coordinate international outreach. There is a solid team of logistic support organizers coming together.

* We have already mailed out over 1100 information packets and have distributed more then 1400 brochures on NAS and NADA. We will begin to do follow up phone calls in the next couple of weeks. We have sent out over 120 alternative press packets and are preparing 150 mainstream press packets for international media contacts in DC. We are pursuing active media coverage and participation in the summit and Test Site activities. In two weeks we will be ready to mail out to 200 intemational organizations.

* The Proposition One Committee has helped us to create a World Wide Web Home Page for the Nuclear Abolition Summit. Check it out! You can get updated information on the NAS at http://www.prop1.org/prop1/nas.htm.

* We are in the process of developing an updated registration packet. We are doing research on Flight and Hotel information and are exploring discounted packages.

* We are preparing to print up another 1000 brochures. This will probably be the last printing so if your organization would like to be listed with the other endorsers or the flyer and brochure, please let us know.

An issue of Native Peoples participation in the organizational process was raised. We feel this is without basis, as Corbin Harney, a Western Shoshone Elder, Founder and Director of Shundahai Network, was completely involved in the decision making process to initially propose and organize the Summit. Corbin was present at the November 18 meeting of the US Abolition 2000 Network, where he urged people to come to Nevada to stop the upcoming Subcritical nuclear tests and continued dumping of Nuclear Waste on Western Shoshone land.

We are including a list of all the Native Groups that we have mailed to or directly met with already. Every package has included a proposal and request for involvement. Reinard and Corbin traveled to Nevada in December '95 to speak to people in the area about the possibilities of the Summit. Their meetings included talks with Ian Zabarte of the Western Shoshone National Council, Dedee Sanchez of the Citizen Alert Native American Program, as well as many other individuals and organizations located in Nevada. Corbin then traveled throughout Nevada visiting his relatives and friends in many Western Shoshone communities. He handed out Nuclear Abolition Summit information packages at many of the stops. While in the area, Corbin visited the Ward Valley resistance encampment and met with some of the leaders of the coalition of five tribes working to stop the Nuclear Waste Dump. He also participated in the Nuclear Risk Management for Native American Communities Project. For a full report on the very positive results of their meetings please give us a call.

We have a list of over 350 tribal councils to mail a personal invitation from Corbin Harney to attend the Summit. We will begin this mailing next week.

Until recently we had expected an Indigenous Peoples Anti-Nuclear Summit (IPANS) to be held in New Mexico in March '96. We were hoping that representatives from that summit would be able to attend the Nuclear Abolition Summit. When we heard the IPANS had been postponed until the fall we began working on ways to involve more Native Organizers. We are doing the best that we can with our limited resources. If any one has ideas or contacts, please let us know.

We are hoping that the format of the Nuclear Abolition Summit will include the means to advance the campaign laid out by the Nuclear Abolition 2000 Network. We are excited about all the organizations who are taking part in the process and look forward to your participation in any and all aspects of organizing for this event

The Shundahai Network is a volunteer organization with our office in our home, we would invite you to visit our home/office at 507 P St. NW, Washington DC.

In Peace, Shundahai Network staff collective.

NUCLEAR ABOLITION SUMMIT
CURRENT NATIVE PEOPLES OUTREACH
Contacted before 1/31/96:

Western Shoshone National Council

Chief Raymond Yowell
Ian Zabarte
Bill Rosse Sr. (Chairman, Shundahai Network Board of Directors)
Citizen Alert Native American Project
Dedee Sanchez
Kim Townsend
Kingfisher Spirit Helper, Cheyenne Nation
(Shundahai Network Board of Directors)
Western Shoshone Defense Project
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
Indian Law Resource Center
Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement
National Congress of American Indians
Navajo Nation
Dine Alliance
Big Mountain Support Native Youth Alliance
News From Indian Country (NL)
The American Eagle (NL)
Shenandoah Newsletter
Robert Ortiz - Warrior(NL)
HANDS - Ruffina Laws (Humans Against Nuclear Dumps)
Red Nations Movement
Akwesasane Notes - Mohawk Nation -(NL)
Fort Mojave Indian Tribe
Dennis Martinez - American Indian cultural Cntr
Chemehevi Indian Tribe
Colorado River Indian Tribes
Fort Yuma - Quechan Indian Tribe
Nilok Butler
Cocopah Indian Tribe
Indigenous Environmental Network
Midwest Treaty Network
Hermandad Mexicana Nacional (Native Mexican organization)
Indigenous Women's Network
Seventh Generation Foundation

Mailed to on 2/5/96:
Circle of Indigenous Youth
International Indian Treaty Council
New Mexico Alliance
Native Action Native Lands Institute
Native Resource Coalition / Grey Eagle Society
Eastern Band of Cherokee WAKEUP Alliance
Southwest Indigenous Uranium Forum
Big Mountain Dine Nation
Tribal Environmental Watch
Indian Rights Committee
Apache Survival Coalition

QUESTIONNAIRE