We are delighted with our guest speakers: Johnnie Bobb, Bonnie Bobb and Randy Kelher.
Johnnie Bobb
This year, Johnnie Bobb, a Western Shoshone spiritual person and Chief of the Western Shoshone National Council will join us. “It is the religious belief of the Western Shoshone that the earth is most sacred, this includes everything in it, upon it and above it. Therefore: it is the solemn duty of the Western Shoshone to protect Mother Earth from all forms of environmental destruction . . . . ” Johnnie will conduct a Sunrise Ceremony, Saturday morning, to honor and protect our Mother Earth and will speak from the heart and wisdom of the Western Shoshone tradition on living in harmony and environmental justice for all living beings.
Johnnie is a gentle man, perhaps a bit shy, with a sly sense of humor and a love for Newene Sogobia, the Western Shoshone Homeland, much of it now illegally occupied by the Nevada National Security Site.
Dr. Bonnie Eberhardt Bobb
Dr. Bonnie Eberhardt Bobb is a cross-cultural psychologist and environmental consultant specializing in Native American issues. Her research includes the impact of environmental change resulting from federal policy and natural factors on Native lifeways, traditional food and medicine, and health. She has conducted soil studies of residual radiation from the nuclear testing era in Shoshone traditional areas of Nevada. She serves on the Board of the Nevada Desert Experience and is the wife of Johnnie L. Bobb.
Hidden and Invisible: Impacts of the Continuing Nuclear Era
Bonnie will discuss the culture of secrecy and denial surrounding the continuing nuclear era. She will address her research on residual radiation resulting from d nuclear testing, health effects on more vulnerable populations, and recent events such as Fukushima and new reactor funding.
Johnnie L. Bobb
Johnnie L. Bobb is the Chief of the Western Shoshone National Council and a Western Shoshone spiritual leader. He continues to conduct Western Shoshone ceremonies and encourages and participates in preservation of Western Shoshone traditions and lifeways. For the last 11 years he has led the Western Shoshone Newene Sogobi’ Mavaa Mia (Walk on the Sacred Land), a prayerful walk/run by Western Shoshone around the land stolen to create the Nevada Test Site.
Johnnie will briefly discuss the Western Shoshone treaty and land issues and the traditional view of the interconnectedness of the earth and creatures on it. He will discuss the environmental devastation to Newe Sogobia, the Western Shoshone Nation by the U.S. government agencies.
Randy Kehler
“Randy Kehler has been a peace activist and community organizer since the mid-1960’s. After finishing Harvard College, Randy did his “graduate work” in federal prison, where he spent 22 months in 1970-71 for his refusal to cooperate with the Vietnam draft.
In 1979, he co-founded the Traprock Peace Center in Deerfield, MA. He was also a co-founder and the first national coordinator of the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign during the early 1980’s. In 1988, he and friends started the Working Group on Electoral Democracy and spent the next 13 years helping to launch a national campaign to abolish the private financing of public elections.
Since 2006 he has been a co-coordinator of the Brattleboro, VT-based “Safe & Green Campaign,” a grassroots effort calling for the closure of the “Vermont Yankee” nuclear reactor in Vermont, VT. Randy lives with his wife Betsy Corner in a communal household in Colrain, MA, that’s part of the Valley Community Land Trust.
As conscientious objectors to war, Randy and Betsy have for many years redirected their federal income tax payments to non-military needs such as food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, and relief for war victims. Their war-tax refusal and the story of the IRS seizure of their home is the subject of an award-winning documentary film entitled “An Act of Conscience” (Turning Tide Productions, 1994).”
About Randy's Presentation:
“Conscience, Courage, and Strategic Nonviolence: A Global Epidemic?
Reflections on nonviolent uprisings around the world, from the Middle East to Europe to Wisconsin and our own communities. Why are they happening now? What can we learn from them? What do they portend for current efforts to stop nuclear and other forms of violence against people, the environmental, and all of life ?”
Hydrofracking and Heavy Industrial Gas Drilling - Stop It Now!
Julie Huntsman is a practicing Veterinarian.
Kelly Branigan is a Registered Nurse and Real Estate Broker. Both live in the Cooperstown area and are members of the Otsego County Natural Gas Advisory Committee.
Julie and Kelly were active in their respective towns' movements to ban heavy industry, including gas drilling and have been asked to share their experiences with groups interested in doing the same. They have joined area activists in lobbying efforts and in speaking out about the impacts of heavy industrial gas drilling on communities as well as actions concerned citizens can take.
A Musical Interlude by Eric Marczak
Dear Reader,
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Eric Marczak, 63 years of age, and lifelong resident of the Capital District. Besides having a career at the NYS Department of Health, where we analyzed environmental toxins, I am a woodworker, musician, educator, and father of two. Some of my woodwork has been displayed at the New York State Museum, and many area galleries. I have a long list of area schools that have invited me to present a range of topics. These were in conjunction with the Questar- Boces program in which I am listed. Among the programs are the Northeast Parent and Child Society, Lincoln School, Hole in the Woods (Lake Luzerne), as well as playing for local area Hospices. I’ve also played, what was referred to as De-stressing lunch time concerts for Employee Assistance programs at NYS government facilities.
One of the unique features of my presentations, I’ve made all the instruments that are used in performances. Flutes, Drums, Shakers, Guitars, Mandolins, and historical reproductions. My Wife, Standing Woman, and I often perform together as Storytellers.
Dawn has been an educator of Native American studies for 23 years and a staff member of the Helderberg workshop for 15 years. Proud of her Mohawk, turtle clan heritage, her school presentations have always been well received.
Looking forward to Serving You, Eric Marczak
The free online CSS code beautifier takes care of your dirty code and strips every unwanted mess. Go to the CSS Cleaner to get started.