Members of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara tribes learned more about the missiles present on their lands, and this knowledge highlighted the importance of preserving their culture and heritage even more.
The Final Episode: What Will Happen Now?
In this final episode of the podcast series, we will return to my tribe, the MHA tribe, to share what I have discovered. Talking to my grandmother, Debra Malnoury, to find out when she first learned about the missile silos. We will also talk to Edmund Baker, the environmental director of the MHA tribe, who knows some information about the missiles. We will also discuss the potential negative impacts of the project on culture, public health, the economy, and infrastructure. We will discuss how this project affects our tribe and how it conflicts with our values and language. Finally, we will talk about the hard work and advocacy happening on the reservation to reclaim our identity and relationship with the land. We will wonder if we can remove the missiles from the reservation and work together to build a different future without missiles in the state. In the end, we will question what we will do under these circumstances and what the next steps should be.
Negative Impacts of the Project
Despite the negative impacts mentioned in the environmental impact statement for the project, I found that the impacts are much greater than what is outlined in the document. Edmund Baker believes that nuclear warheads not only conflict with the spirit of the land, but also contradict foundational concepts in our language. Additionally, the project significantly impacts culture, public health, the economy, and infrastructure. Therefore, missiles and other projects aimed at investing in things that will fade away over time should be unacceptable. We should invest in things that will endure after us, such as culture and heritage.
The Struggle for Survival
The history of our tribe reflects the ongoing struggle for survival and resilience. This is just another test. However, there is hope in the new generations preparing to continue the struggle for our tribe, our land, our rights, our culture, and our future. For the rest of the people, the question is simple: what will we do? We need to be aware of what is happening and work together to create change. Things can change, and resilience and survival are part of our culture and heritage.
This presentation was prepared by Ella Weber, produced by Sebastian Philip and Tulika Boss. The text was edited by Tulika Boss. Post-production design and mixing by Jeff DelViscio. Special thanks to special advisor Ryo Murimoto and Jessica Lambert. Music from Epidemic Sound.
I’m Ella Weber, and this was “Missiles on Our Reservation,” a special podcast from Scientific American collaboration, Princeton University’s Science and Global Security Program, Princeton Nuclear, and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
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