Four members of the Winnemucca Indian Colony in Nevada have filed suit to stop the Pentagon's plan to blow up more than 700 tons of explosives at the Nevada Test Site.

The four members, along with two residents of Utah, say the blast will stir up radioactive fallout left from nuclear weapons tests conducted from 1951 to 1992. "This is a worst nightmare come true for downwinders," attorney Robert Hager told the Associated Press.

The lawsuit claims the blast will harm Western Shoshone lands that were never ceded to the United States.

Get the Story:
Indian Tribe, Downwinders: Stop Nev. Blast (AP 4/20)
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Relevant Links:
Western Shoshone Defense Project - http://www.wsdp.org
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/cerd.htm

Western Shoshone Claims Distribution Act:
Bill Report | H.R.884 | S.618

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