April 2008
Friday, 18th
12 pm
Opening of Witness to History: The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a poster exhibit of photographs and artwork which document the bombings of 1945. The posters were donated by the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation and will be on display at the bottom floor of the Egan Library Friday through Sunday.
A special thanks to all the sponsors, contributors, and organizers!
Organizations Hiroshima Peace Memorial The University of Alaska Southeast, Chancellors Office Rongelap City Government The Leighty Foundation Skagway City School Juneau Council of World Affairs Juneau Veterans for Peace Juneau People for Peace Voices in Wartime Individuals Rich Moniak Kim Stewart Greinier Kent Fielding Patrick Moore UAS Dean of Arts & Sciences John Pugh, UAS Chancellor Judith Maier Dr. Michael Dickens William Leighty Chiyoko Osada Hamako Mitsuse Kai Kondo Keiko Aoshima Kenji Kitagawa Mariko Mizugaki Michiyo Isohata Midori Ota Minoru Watanabe Teruko Hashizume Tomoko Watanabe of ANT-Hiroshima Alpha Phi Omega Article 9 Society of Hiroshima Hiroshima Alliance for Nuclear Weapons Abolition Seikyo Hiroshima
Keynote Speakers (Egan Library Commons)
66:10 pm 6:106:30 pm 6:307:30 pm 7:308:30 pm
Greetings and awarding of Keys to the City: Bruce Botelho, Mayor of Juneau. Opening Address: Dr. Noon, UAS History Professor.
Keynote Speaker: James Matayoshi, Mayor of Rongelap.
Keynote Speaker: Lijon Eknilang, Marshallese rights activist 10-minute break
8:409:40 pm
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Holly Barker, Author and Senior Advisor to the Republic of Marshall Islands.
Layout by Alex Bogolepov
Veterans for Peace VFP is a national organization of U.S. military veterans created to wage the struggle for peace in our time. VFP aims to increase public awareness of the cost of war, to restrain our government from interfering in the affairs of other nations, to end the arms race and to eliminate nuclear weapons, to seek justice for veterans and victims of war, and to abolish war as an instrument of national policy. Deborah Smith Deborah has been a leader in local theatre in Alaska for many years, including service as the President of the State Community Theatre Association and many years on the Board of Juneau-Douglas Little Theatre. Deborah directed The War Prayer in 1970. Unfortunately, the need to continue producing it remains. Gary Waid Gary is a very well-known Tlingit actor, who has performed for many years with Perseverance Theatre, as well as Nah Kahidi Theatre. He is a Vietnam Veteran and an active member of Veterans for Peace in Juneau. Phil Smith Phil has performed in numerous community theatre productions and with Perseverance Theatre. He is a life-long Alaskan and a veteran of the U.S. Army (1964 - 1967). He is the President of the local Chapter of Veterans for Peace. Shelby Surdyk The only thing bigger than Shelby Surdyks ego is her desire to change the world. After exploring and studying the history of United States Nuclear Testing in the Marshall Islands for a drama performance, she became extremely passionate and interested in the topic. Her friend, Erica Harris, and she now have a project, Students Educating for Nuclear Awareness, which they took down to the Marshall Islands to teach people about nuclear weapons and their effects on the Marshallese population.
Saturday, April 19th
8 am12pm
Voices In Wartime Workshop for Educators, Egan 223 This workshop seeks to enable students in a classroom setting to engage deeply with the subject of war its causes and consequences, its multiple tragedies and devastating trauma by hearing, telling, and re-telling the personal stories of witnesses to war. Nuclear Awareness Conference Honorary Luncheon Mourant Cafeteria Opening Remarks Egan Lecture Hall 112 Dr. David Noon, UAS history professor For the Good of Mankind Skagway , Shelby Surdyk and Erica Harris. The history of U.S. nuclear testing in the Pacific told from the standpoint of the Marshallese. This presentation will also include Jab Bo Kake, a traditional Marshallese story. Andrew Himes, Executive Director of Voices in Wartime
121 pm 11:10 pm 1:102 pm
2:103:40 pm
Documentary Film Showings (Egan Wing Classrooms)
Marshall Islands Film Series: Between 1946 and 1958 the United States detonated 67 atomic and thermonuclear bombs in the Marshall Islands, tiny atolls in the midPacific. They used the atolls Bikini and Enewetok as testing grounds for weapons too dangerous to test in the U.S. The nuclear fallout has affected the entire Marshall Islands and Marshallese today still suffer from health effects due to fallout. Some Marshallese have been unable to return to their home islands due to contamination.
Master of Ceremonies
Dr. David Noon David Noon has taught U.S. history on the UAS Juneau campus since Fall, 2002. His dissertation, This is (Not) a Child: Race, Gender, and Development in the Child Sciences, 1880-1910, displays the full range of Dr. Noons research interests in history, which include developmental psychology, criminology, medicine, and the social construction of race and gender. More recently, Dr. Noon has written about the use of World War analogies in contemporary political rhetoric, cold war historical memory in the fiction of Don DeLillo, and the work of neoconservatives and Christian prophecy writers in the war on terrorism.
1:302:50 pm
Half-Life: A Parable for the Nuclear Age. Egan 218 This compelling and beautifully crafted film reveals the effects of U.S. nuclear testing on the inhabitants of the Marshall Islands. The film combines declassified U.S. Defense Department archival footage of the Bravo Nuclear Test with contemporary interviews of the people of Rongelap.
1:302:30 pm
A New Island Egan 219 A documentary about the displaced Marshallese people who have immigrated to Springdale, Arkansas. They come for better jobs, education, and health care.
Victoria Samson Victoria joined the Center for Defense Information in November 2001. Her areas of interest include missile defense, nuclear reductions, and emerging weapons technologies. Samson, the author of numerous op-eds, analytical pieces, journal articles, and electronic updates on missile defense and space security matters, provides an objective assessment of U.S. policy.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki Film Series: Hiroshima and Nagasaki will always be symbols of the destructive force of nuclear weapons, but more they will be seen as symbols of the 20th century when war came to be perpetuated not against armies but against civilians. We should remember that those who suffer the most in war are women and children, and that any war against the innocent is a crime.
1:303:00 pm
White Light/Black Rain Egan 108 On August 6th and 9th, 1945, two atomic bombs vaporized 210,000 people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Oscar award-winning filmmaker Steven Okazaki revisits the bombings and shares the stories of fourteen atomic bomb survivors - many who have never spoken publicly before and four Americans intimately involved in the bombings. Through riveting testimonies, the film reveals both unimaginable suffering and extraordinary human resilience. Hiroshima: A Mothers Prayer Egan 109 A documentary that depicts Hiroshima as it was at the time of the bombing (before and after the bomb), and appeals to the sacredness of the abolition of nuclear weapons and world peace from a mothers viewpoint. Poison DUst Egan 109 A film revealing the stories of young Iraq war veterans, who are suffering from the symptoms of uranium poisoning. Of a veterans young daughter whose birth defect is strikingly similar to birth defects suffered by many Iraqi children. Of a government unwilling to admit there might be a problem here. Filmmaker Sue Harris skillfully weaves the stories of young veterans with scientific explanations of the nature of DU and its dangers.
Lijon Eknilang Lijon Eknilang was a child when Bravo was detonated and fallout snowed on her. She has since experience seven miscarriages and thyroid cancer. Lijon has spoken out against nuclear weapons and fought for Marshallese rights and compensation around the world. She has presented to the World Court in Hague and her testimony has appeared in many books including Pacific Women Speak Out; Day of Two Suns; Bravo for the Marshallese; and The Case Against the Bomb.
1:302:00 Himes pm
Presenters
Andrew Mr. Himes is the executive director of the Voices in Wartime Education Project, which uses the arts and education to support the healing process for soldiers and civilians who have experienced the trauma of war, and to help young people understand the nature of conflict and solutions to conflict. Andrew has been working for social change since the 1960s. During the 1980s, Himes spent several years as a technology journalist and editor, and in 1992 went to work for Microsoft, where he helped pioneer the companys embrace of the Internet by managing the first web team at Microsoft. In 2004, he produced his first film, Voices in Wartime, a documentary that uses poetry to explore the trauma of war. He is the co-editor of the Voices in Wartime Anthology, and director of the short film on PTSD, Beyond Wartime. Erica Harris Erica, a senior at Skagway School, participated in Drama, Debate and Forensics throughout her high school career. In 2006 and 2007 she finished 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th at the State Championships, and in 2008 she won the Duo Interpretation for Literature category and will represent the State of Alaska at Nationals in June.
2:003:00 pm
Keynote Speakers (Egan Library Commons)
6:308:10 pm 8:108:20 pm
Keynote Speaker: Ms. Shigeko Sasamori, an International Peace Activist. Introduction of Speaker: Dr. David Noon Closing Remarks: Dr. David Noon
Keynote Speakers
Ms. Shigeko Sasamori An International Peace Activist, Ms. Sasamori was only one mile from the hypocenter when Little Boy exploded over Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945 at 8:15 am. She barely survived. Terribly burned, her parents could not tell the front of her head from the back of her head. She became one of the Hiroshima Maidens and traveled to the U.S. to receive extensive plastic surgery. Today she works tirelessly for nuclear disarmament and appears at conferences around the world. Recently she has spoken at Think Outside the Bomb at the University of California, Santa Barbara and at Los Almos Study Group Life of a Hiroshima Maiden. Featured in the films, White Light/Black Rain and Hiroshima Survivor: Shigeko, Shigeko Sasamoris life journey has been a symbol for peace and the resurrection of humanity. Dr. Holly Barker Dr. Barker is currently Senior Advisor to the Republic of Marshall Islands Ambassador. Her book, Bravo for the Marshallese: Regaining Control in a Post-Nuclear, Post-Colonial World, is a case study that recounts the story of the people of the Marshall Islands and their efforts to understand the effects of nuclear contamination and to hold the U.S. government accountable. She currently teaches at the University of Washington in Seattle. James Matayoshi At the age of 18, Almira Ainri was exposed to fallout from the United States largest atmospheric test, Castle Bravo, which was carried by winds to Rongelap Atoll over 100 miles away from the detonation. Over 50 years later, James Matayoshi, Almiras son, has become dedicated towards finding both immediate and long-term solutions to the many problems created by the U.S. Nuclear testing program for the Marshallese people. Over his 16 years as Mayor of Rongelap, James has spoken at multiple Bravo Day and Nuclear Remembrance events, actively participated in efforts to make the United States recognize its unfulfilled responsibilities to the Rongelapese people (who have been displaced from their homes due to radioactive contamination), and engaged independent scientific research of Rongelap concerning radioactivity and clean-up
Sunday, April 20th
Presentation Series (Egan Lecture Hall 112)
12:0012:10 pm 12:1012:30 pm 12:3012:40 pm 12:401:40 pm
Opening Remarks: Dr. David Noon, UAS History Professor The War Prayer, Veterans for Peace. Featuring Deborah Smith, Paul Smith, and Gary Waid. What I Heard About Iraq, Veterans for Peace.
Poetry and Prose Readings: Open to all who wish to read original or otherwise works that are relevant to nuclear power, technology, proliferation, history, etc.
Documentary Film Showings (Egan Wing Classrooms)
1:302:30 pm
Forbidden Paradise Egan 218 This winner of the New York Film Festivals Best Documentary Award tells the story of Bikinian people and the U.S. Nuclear testing. During Operation Crossroads, the worlds fourth and fifth atomic explosions, the U.S. assembled a fleet of over 90 ships to be exposed to an atomic bomb. The U.S. wanted to see what would happen to a Navy during an atomic war. Many of these ships now rest at the bottom of Bikini lagoon. This film contains some of the best underwater footage ever shot of the USS Saratoga and the Japanese Flagship, the Nagato. Proving Grounds or Home on the Range Egan 219 This documentary focuses on the changing Native culture near the U.S. missile base of Kawajalein. It examines a protest in the 80s by Marshallese citizens to return to islands the U.S. currently uses for its missile-testing program.
1:302:30 pm
2:303:30 pm
Nuclear Exiles Egan 219 This film follows the Bikini people and their exile from their homelands. It showcases the Bikinians as they continue to fight the U.S. in court for compensation and for the clean-up of their home atoll. Hiroshima Witnesses: Hibakusha A testimony of a witness of the bombing. Egan 108
Other Conference activities (Located throughout Egan Building hallways)
Table 1: How to Make a Paper Crane. Join Skagway students Cierra Hahn and Teslyn Kosmo as they teach you the art of origami. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial donated over 1000 sheets of origami paper. It is the hopes of the Conference to have visitors make 1000 cranes. These cranes will be a symbol of peace and be given to the University of Alaska. Table 2: Books, Films, Marshallese Music and Art. Come see many of the books and films that relate to conference topics or were written by its keynote speakers. Some of these books are out of print or published in faraway places such as Fiji. There will also be CDs of Marshallese music and a display of Marshallese artwork. Table 3: UAS Bookstore. Purchase books about Nuclear Awareness and/or books by Keynote speakers. Table 4: Veterans for Peace. The local Juneau branch of Veterans for Peace will have a display and be selling CDs. Please stop by. Table 5: Voices in Wartime. Come look at the documentary Voices in Wartime. The booth will have examples of curriculum guides, information about the organization and copies of the documentary for sale. Table 6: Hiroshima Peace Memorial. Information on the Peace Museum in Hiroshima and on its projects. Please stop back and fill out an event evaluation form. Tell us what you think. Table 7: IDEA International Debate Education Association. Information on the Citizen Journalism and Debate Institute in Turkey. Information on the organization and some of its projects. Gifts and handouts available. Table 8: Alpha Phi Omega Find out about the Conferences organizers and what they do around the Juneau community!
1:303:30 pm 3:003:30 pm
On A Paper Crane: Tomokos Adventure Egan 109 A Peace Animation to the Worlds Children. Tomoko is a sixth grader in elementary school. Quite active and adventurous, she visits Hiroshima by herself. When she visits the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, she meets a mysterious girl. The girls name is Sadako. Sadako then takes Tomoko on a strange, eye-opening journey filled with adventures and understanding of what nuclear weapons mean. The Children of Nagasaki Egan 109 This documentary depicts the destruction of Nagasaki. Most of the victims of the bombing were children. What A Way to Go Haines. , Egan 109 A readers theatre that humorously discusses the madness of nuclear proliferation and is based on the songs of Tom Lerher. Features: Kee Heyward, Kelly Edmond, and Tristan Sebens.
3:304:00 pm
4:05-4:15 pm
Keynote Speakers (Egan Library Commons)
5:006:40 pm
Keynote Speaker: Victoria Samson. An update on the missile defense system, its weaknesses and the things it still needs to improve. Samson will focus mainly on the system thats already deployed in Alaska and California, but will also discuss the proposed extension of it to Europe and how missile defense overall is hurting, not helping, our national security. Introduction of speaker by Dr. David Noon, UAS history professor Closing Remarks: Dr. David Noon
6:406:50 pm