Charmaine White Face, or Zumila Wobaga, is an Oglala Tetuwan (
Lakota language
Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of the Sioux tribes. Lakota is mutually intelligible with the two dialects of the Dakota language, especially Western Dakota, and i ...
speaker) from the
Oceti Sakowin
The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota: /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations peoples in North America. The modern Sioux consist of two major divisions based on language divisions: the Dakota and ...
(
Great Sioux Nation
The Great Sioux Nation is the traditional political structure of the Sioux in North America. The peoples who speak the Sioux language are considered to be members of the Oceti Sakowin (''Očhéthi Šakówiŋ'', pronounced ) or Seven Council Fire ...
) in
North America.
She is known for her work in support of
Native American rights, in particular as coordinator of the
Defenders of the Black Hills, a volunteer
environmental organization
An environmental organization is an organization coming out of the conservation or environmental movements
that seeks to protect, analyse or monitor the environment against misuse or degradation from human forces.
In this sense the environmen ...
centered on efforts to encourage the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
government to honor the Fort Laramie Treaties of
1851 and
1868
Events
January–March
* January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries.
* January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Jap ...
.
She also works at the international level in support of recognition of human rights of indigenous peoples all over the world.
She is the spokesperson for the
Sioux Nation
The Great Sioux Nation is the traditional political structure of the Sioux in North America. The peoples who speak the Sioux language are considered to be members of the Oceti Sakowin (''Očhéthi Šakówiŋ'', pronounced ) or Seven Council Fire ...
Treaty Council
established in 1894.
She was a participant in the prayer fast/hunger strike held in December 2004 in Geneva, Switzerland at the final meeting of the Intersessional Working Group on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (WGDD). She has worked to preserve
Bear Butte
Bear Butte is a geological laccolith feature located near Sturgis, South Dakota, United States, that was established as a State Park in 1961. An important landmark and religious site for the Plains Indians tribes long before Europeans reached Sout ...
,
on monitoring of abandoned
uranium mines
Uranium production is carried out in about 13 countries around the world, in 2017 producing a cumulative total of 59,462 tonnes of uranium (tU). The international producers were Kazakhstan (39%), Canada (22%), Australia (10%), Namibia (7.1%), Nig ...
, on "
environmental remediation of waste pond, hazardous waste ponds," and in the anti-nuclear movement, anti-nuclear power movement. In Jan. 2013, she raised concerns about Ionizing radiation, radiation exposure of South Dakota Army National Guard soldiers in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland.
Charmaine White Face is also a columnist and freelance writer who has written for ''Indian Country Today'', the ''Rapid City Journal'', the Sioux Falls ''Argus Leader'', and ''The Lakota Journal'', and is a grandmother.
See also
* Black Hills
* Janet McCloud
*Uranium in the environment
*Anti-nuclear movement in the United States
*''The Navajo People and Uranium Mining''
*Uranium mining debate
*Thomas Banyacya
References
External links
Defenders of the Black Hills- video of interview with Charmaine White Face
Sacred Land, Poisoned Peoples; the Pre-Congress report at the 19th Annual IPPNW Conference, Basel Switzerland*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:White Face, Charmaine
American human rights activists
Women human rights activists
Native American activists
Oglala people
Black Hills
People from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Anti-uranium activists
Uranium mining
21st-century American women
21st-century Native American women
21st-century Native Americans