We are happy to be back on the air after a nice winter hibernation, and on today's episode we will be highlighting one of the truly great community events that takes place annually here on the Colorado Plateau and that is the Rumble on the Mountain happening this Saturday January 19th in Flagstaff, AZ. This year is the fifth year of the Rumble and the topic they are highlighting is the ongoing legacy of Uranium Mining on the Colorado Plateau, a hugely important subject for the health of communities here on the Plateau, and a subject that does not get the spotlight it truly deserves.
'Rumble on the Mountain' by Ed Kabotie |
We have some recordings from the very first Rumble on the Mountain that we will share with you, where the focus was on the utilization of reclaimed wastewater on the San Francisco Peaks, an area held sacred by all the sovereign Nations of the Plateau. The recordings include the audio of a piece by Sarah Weatherby entitled 'How and How Not to Ski', a moving performance and speech by the chair of the Havasupai tribe Rex Tilousi, a call to action by Moran Henn, and a Call to Holiness by Vernon Masayesva, the former chair of the Hopi Tribal Council. Also music by Tha Yoties, and Ed Kabotie.
And in the second hour we play some tunes by past and current performers of the Rumble on the Mountain, including Innastate, Sage Bond, and Sihasin. We also get to hear from organizer Ed Kabotie himself with a phone interview where we discuss the origin and metamorphosis of the Rumble on the Mountain event, the connection between uranium, arsenic, water and how we treat one another, as well as an update on his travels of late to Washington DC and California where he brings his messages from the land and people of the Plateau to all who will listen.
Ed Kabotie at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian |
Further Reading/Links:
Ed Kabotie - The Alternative History of America (performance at the Hopi Festival 2018 at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian)
Sarah Weatherby - How and How Not to Ski (presentation)
HaulNo (Facebook page of organization spotlighted at this years Rumble on the Mountain)
Rumble on the Mountain (Facebook page of the event)