Birthday of Corbin Harney (Newe, Western Shoshone)

Born on this day in 1920 was spiritual leader Corbin Harney of the Newe or Western Shoshone people. He was important in leading the fight against nuclear weapons testing on his peoples land, especially against the Nevada Test Site and proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site. The Shoshone people “were put here by the creator as a native people to take care of this land and all the life on it,” Harney said in a statement during a 1998 protest at the test site. “The government has stolen this land from us, and now it is very contaminated. For 50 years they have kept us out with fences and guards.” He built international solidarity between peoples struggling against nuclear weapons worldwide, even travelling to the Russian Nuclear Bombing Range in Kazakhstan. Harney is also remembered as a fluent speaker of the Shoshone language and a dedicated culture carrier.