Nevada Desert Experience invites you to join us for Justice For Our Desert October 14-16, 2022, a weekend event with a cultural happening in Las Vegas, an experience in the desert, and peaceful witnesses at Creech Air Force Base and the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS, formerly the Nevada Test Site). Both Creech and the NNSS are desecrations of the land, its people and other creatures in Nevada and represent a threat to all life on the planet.
Justice For Our Desert begins
Friday evening, October 14 at 6:00 p.m. at The Gather House,
1020 East Fremont Street, Las Vegas, with a concert featuring
Eileen & the In-Betweens, a social justice indie folk group based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and local artists, including NDE’s own
Vera For Love. There will be food and drink, art and other materials from NDE, and discussion of the weekend’s events. Admission is by freewill donation. Walk-ins are welcome, but we would appreciate a heads up if you are coming!
On Saturday morning, October 15 at
8:30 a.m. a simple breakfast will be served at NDE’s base at
1420 West Bartlett Avenue, Las Vegas, including introductions and a brief discussion of NDE’s history, its mission and commitment to nonviolence. Around
10:30 a.m., we will leave Las Vegas for the desert, stopping first at The Corn Creek Desert Wildlife Refuge, to learn about and appreciate the endangered desert environment. We will take some time to discuss the history of colonization and militarization of the desert and the resistance of it by Indigenous communities and anti-war activists. We will have our lunch at Corn Creek and have time to walk, meditate and visit the exhibits there.
At 3:00 p.m., we will briefly visit the Terrible’s casino and gas station in Indian Springs, just up Hwy 95 from Las Vegas, to witness a perpetual video loop celebrating nuclear testing and killing by drone in a crass commercial context. NDE activists will offer a brief counter narrative.
From 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., we will be at the gate of Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, to greet drone operators as they leave their shift. Creech AFB is the center of drone warfare and assassination for the U.S. military and the CIA. NDE began protesting there in 2009. The evidence is clear that war from a distance by remote control is an instrument of terror that exacts a horrific toll on civilians abroad and moral injury on troops at home.
We will leave Creech for the historic Peace Camp 30 miles farther up the highway at the Mercury exit, across from the NNSS. The NNSS, established on land stolen from the Western Shoshone nation, was the primary testing location of American nuclear devices from 1951 to 1992; 928 announced nuclear tests occurred there, making it the most bombed place on earth. Today it continues as the site of “subcritical” nuclear tests and other research for new nuclear bombs and for the “life extension” of old ones. NDE has witnessed for justice at the test site for more than 40 years.
Supper will be served and those who wish will spend Saturday night at the camp. Conditions are primitive, but sunset and sunrise in the desert are breathtaking and October nights are usually mild. NDE has some tents, pads and sleeping bags available to lend, please let us know.
Sunday morning, October 16, before the sun rises at
6:48 a.m., Johnnie Bobb, of the Western Shoshone Nation, is expected to lead us in a sunrise circle of prayer and gratitude. After breakfast, at about
8:30 a.m., we will process from Peace Camp through the tunnels to the gate of the NNSS. After a time of reflection and prayer and an opportunity to speak to police and representatives of the National Nuclear "Security" Administration who may be present, some participants will cross onto the property of the Western Shoshone nation that has been desecrated by the U.S. government. Despite having permission from the property owners, those who cross the line will expect to be arrested, briefly detained and possibly cited for the crime of trespass. Participants in the protests at Creech and the NNSS will be required to abide by NDE’s Nonviolence Covenant. After the alleged trespassers are processed, we will break camp and pack for our return to Las Vegas.
A simple lunch will be served at NDE headquarters in Las Vegas, where there will be a debriefing and closing circle.
FOR TRAVELERS WHO NEED ACCOMODATIONS FOR FRIDAY NIGHT: There will be limited space indoors on Bartlett Street, and a few beds and couches and tents can be set up in the yard. Please let us know early and we will try to accommodate you.
COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: Care still needs to be taken! Much of the time we will be outside, but indoors and in cars when social distancing is difficult, masks are strongly recommended. NDE will keep masks and hand sanitizer available.
LET US KNOW IF YOU ARE COMING! Even if you are local in Nevada, it will help us plan to know who to expect. Please contact us at
info@nevadadesertexperience.org or call (702) 646-4814.
FIRST AND LAST NAME
PHONE NUMBER
EMAIL
ARRIVAL & DEPARTURE INFO (if visiting Nevada)
SPECIAL DIETARY NEEDS
ARE YOU CONSIDERING JOINING RISKING ARREST AT THE NNSS ON SUNDAY?
Please let us know, too, if you are coming by car and able to help with rides and hauling gear. Are you traveling with members of your ‘pod’ to share a room or tent with? Any other information that will help us accommodate you is welcome.