NH #575: Saskatchewan Uranium Mining – Indigenous UPDATE: Candyce Paul

This Week’s Featured Interview:

It’s a common talking point among those who oppose nuclear that the impact of uranium mining in particular has come down disproportionately on indigenous people around the world.  But in reality, what does that look like?  And what does it do to those who have traditionally lived close to the land and have been fighting against this environmental devastation for decades?  Our  guest today fills in the picture of her own people and lands have been experiencing.

Candyce Paul, a member of English River First Nation where she lives
on LaPlonge Reserve in Northern Saskatchewan
  • Candyce Paul has lived in northern Saskatchewan for nearly four decades with her husban, well-known activist, Marius Paul.  She is a member of English River First Nation where she lives on LaPlonge Reserve, where she spent many years living and learning the traditional northern culture, which she is passing on to the next generation. 

    When her community became a target of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization on a proposal to store high-level nuclear waste in her family’s territory she became the Outreach Coordinator for Committee for Future Generations. This group has been educating the public about the risks of nuclear waste and uranium mining for the past 10 years.  Candyce recently accepted a place on the Board of Keepers of the Water, an Indigenous-led organization, which advocates to protect the waters of their regions.

    Both Candyce and her husband Marius stand to protect the land, waters, and future generations in Saskatchewan and on other First Nations/Indigenous lands from the over-ambitious resource extractive industries that are targeting their part of northern Saskatchewan, from logging to peat mining, to uranium mining. 

    I spoke with Candyce Paul on Thursday, June 16, 2022.

Numnutz of the Week (for Outstanding Nuclear Boneheadedness):

Is reactivating a nuclear power plant near a volcano a bad idea? Hmmm, let me guess… <!>

Links:

Global fallout patterns – short, good information