JoAnn Tall
Encyclopedia
JoAnn Tall is an environmental activist of the Oglala Lakota
tribe who has worked to ensure the people have a chance to approve major projects for energy development. She was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize
in 1993 for her protests against uranium mining
and plans for testing nuclear weapons in the Black Hills
area, near the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
where she lives.
Tall was involved with the Black Hills Alliance in the 1970s, a group consisting of locals and environmentalists who investigated and tracked the records of uranium companies looking to mine in the region. The activists worked to ensure that any energy development projects proposed for the region would need to be approved by the voters rather than being automatically approved by the State.
Tall is an original board member for KILI
, the local radio station for Pine Ridge Reservation. In August 1992, the station was protested for several months by local Oglala Lakota tribe members who believed that their freedom of speech and traditions were being suppressed by the white manager of the station.
In 1989 Tall co-founded the Native Resource Coalition in order to help educate the Lakota regarding health and environmental issues.
Oglala Lakota
The Oglala Lakota or Oglala Sioux are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people; along with the Nakota and Dakota, they make up the Great Sioux Nation. A majority of the Oglala live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the eighth-largest Native American reservation in the...
tribe who has worked to ensure the people have a chance to approve major projects for energy development. She was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize
Goldman Environmental Prize
The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. The prize includes a no-strings-attached award of...
in 1993 for her protests against uranium mining
Uranium mining
Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. The worldwide production of uranium in 2009 amounted to 50,572 tonnes, of which 27% was mined in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia are the top three producers and together account for 63% of world uranium...
and plans for testing nuclear weapons in the Black Hills
Black Hills
The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...
area, near the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is an Oglala Sioux Native American reservation located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Great Sioux Reservation, Pine Ridge was established in 1889 in the southwest corner of South Dakota on the Nebraska border...
where she lives.
Tall was involved with the Black Hills Alliance in the 1970s, a group consisting of locals and environmentalists who investigated and tracked the records of uranium companies looking to mine in the region. The activists worked to ensure that any energy development projects proposed for the region would need to be approved by the voters rather than being automatically approved by the State.
Tall is an original board member for KILI
KILI
KILI , licensed to Porcupine, South Dakota, is a non-profit radio station broadcasting to the Lakota people on the Pine Ridge, Cheyenne River, and Rosebud Indian Reservations, part of the Great Sioux Nation...
, the local radio station for Pine Ridge Reservation. In August 1992, the station was protested for several months by local Oglala Lakota tribe members who believed that their freedom of speech and traditions were being suppressed by the white manager of the station.
In 1989 Tall co-founded the Native Resource Coalition in order to help educate the Lakota regarding health and environmental issues.
External links
- "JoAnn Tall interview", News From Indian Country, at Cheyenne Creek