FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2026
White Mesa Concerned Community
protectwhitemesa.org
MEDIA ADVISORY
Contacts:
Yolanda Badback, White Mesa Concerned Community, (435) 459-2461, ybadback427@gmail.com
Bradley Angel, Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice, (415) 722-5270, bradley@greenaction.org
Photos and video (free for media use): https://bit.ly/White-Mesa-2025-Photos
White Mesa Ute Invite Public to Join 10th Annual Spiritual Walk to Protest Energy Fuels Uranium Mill
What: A rally and spiritual walk to protect the White Mesa Ute Community’s health, water, air, land, culture, and sacred sites from the Energy Fuels uranium mill located just north of our reservation and just east of Bears Ears National Monument. The community-led walk protests the mill operating as an international dumping ground for radioactive waste. We walk in solidarity with our relatives across Indian Country, and with people across Utah, the Southwest, and the world, from Japan to Europe to Madagascar, suffering due to radioactive materials destined to be processed and buried at the mill near our community. Please join us.
When: Saturday, October 17, 2026, 11 a.m. MDT rally followed by spiritual walk to the Energy Fuels uranium mill, about five miles on relatively flat pavement. Wear comfortable shoes and bring plenty of water. Limited number of vehicle seats available for elders and those not able to walk the whole way.
Where: The White Mesa Ute Community Center in White Mesa, Utah, off Highway 191. The community center is on the west side of the highway. Turn west at the gas station and go one block south.
Why: The Ute Mountain Ute Community of White Mesa and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe’s Environmental Programs Department are concerned about contamination from the uranium mill and desecration of sacred sites. This is our 10th year of leading the rally and walk to the mill. The uranium mill, owned by Energy Fuels Resources, is also where uranium ore from the Pinyon Plain Mine, near the Grand Canyon, is trucked more than 300 miles for processing; Native American tribes, including the Havasupai Tribe, strongly oppose that mine. Amid the administration and the State of Utah’s push to boost uranium and nuclear power, more uranium is trucked from the Energy-Fuels-owned La Sal Mines Complex about 60 miles to the mill, and at least 72 new mining claims have been staked on lands cut from Bears Ears National Monument. Trucks hauling uranium ore are a constant presence on Highway 191 through our community, the same road our children travel to school, and at least two uranium haul trucks have crashed on the Navajo Nation this year. The waste from all this uranium-ore processing is dumped in pits near our community. As far away as Madagascar, Indigenous people strongly oppose Energy Fuels’ operations.
Quotes:
“They want to expand the mill’s waste pits south towards our reservation. We are standing up and doing whatever we can to stop that from happening. We are a small community. We cannot do this alone. Please come join our walk and show the state of Utah and the world that we’ve had enough. Our children need clean water to drink and clean air to breathe. Your radioactive waste is not welcome here.” –Yolanda Badback, White Mesa Concerned Community cofounder
“The water under the mill is becoming more and more polluted and is moving toward our community. The acidity of the water is increasing, and heavy metals are rising. We used to drink the spring water for ceremonial purposes. We don’t do
that anymore. We used to hunt for animals near our homes; we used to gather plants for baskets, and to eat. We don’t do that anymore as well.” –Anferny Cly, White Mesa Concerned Community
###
White Mesa Concerned Community is a grassroots group of concerned citizens of the Ute Mountain Ute community of White Mesa, Utah, located south of Energy Fuels’ uranium mill. We work to inform our people and protect our community, health, water, air, land, culture, and sacred sites from toxic contamination.
The 10th Annual Rally and Spiritual Walk is sponsored by the White Mesa Concerned Community and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe’s Environmental Programs Department.
Event co-sponsors:
Ah Mut Pipa Foundation, Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, Bidii Roots, Children for a Safe Environment, Diné Care, Gila River Alliance for a Clean Environment, Grand Canyon Trust, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, Haul No!, HEAL Utah, Indigenous Environmental Network, Moab Mutual Aid, Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment, National Parks Conservation Association, New Mexico Social Justice and Equity Institute, Northern Arizona American Indian Movement, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, PANDOS, Red Water Pond Road Community Association, Sierra Club Utah Chapter, SLC Air Protectors, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Uranium Watch, University of Utah Environmental Justice Clinic.