CORVALLIS, Ore. - An award-winning documentary film will be shown at Oregon State University on Friday, Oct.7, beginning at 5:15 p.m., with a discussion about uranium contamination in the Navajo Nation following the screening.

The free public event will be held in the Construction and Engineering Auditorium of LaSells Stewart Center, 875 S.W. 26th St., Corvallis.

The film, "The Return of Navajo Boy," was intended to be a documentary about an adoption but it helped motivate a 2007 Congressional investigation into uranium contamination on the Navajo Nation. The film also resulted in reuniting a family, compensation for a former uranium miner, and an Environmental Protection Agency cleanup of Navajo elder Elsie Mae Begay's home.

Following the 75-minute documentary, filmmaker Jeff Spitz, Navajo elder Begay, uranium contamination expert Perry H. Charley (founder of the Uranium Education Project and Dine College Environmental Institute) and OSU alum Oliver Tapaha from the Navajo Nation will discuss their personal experiences and answer questions from the audience.

The OSU screening is part of a tour aimed at public discussion of nuclear contamination issues. The tour is supported by a grant from the Tokyo Foundation's Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund.

The OSU event is supported by the OSU Horning Endowment in the Humanities, American Indian Initiatives and the OSU Native American Longhouse.

For more information, go to http://Navajoboy.com.

Source: 

Linda Richards, 541-944-5960

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