Effects of Uranium Mining on Native Americans Documented

TEMPE, AZ--(Marketwire - October 5, 2007) - University of Advancing Technology (UAT) alumna Jenny Pond has produced her first full-length production, "Poison Wind," a documentary that examines the devastation of the aboriginal homelands of indigenous people from the 1940s until today. An excerpt from the documentary will be shown as a work-in-progress at the 4th Annual Southwest Native American Film Festival.

Set against the Grand Canyon and indigenous landscape of the Desert Southwest, "Poison Wind" focuses on human costs of uranium mining, including the effects of radiation on the local population. According to Pond, uranium mining has led to high cancer rates, birth defects, and, among pre-teen girls, hysterectomies.

Pond filmed "Poison Wind" in the four corners region of New Mexico and northern Arizona with help from several Native Americans, including co-producer Norman Patrick Brown and Director of Indian Studies at Scottsdale Community College Manny Pino. Michael Blake, author of the novel "Dances With Wolves," also makes an appearance in the film.

Pond, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in Multimedia Design from UAT in 2004, has spent the last seven years in the film industry working with MTV and on productions of the films "Kingdom" and "Flight Plan."

The six-minute clip of "Poison Wind" will premiere at the 4th Annual Southwest Native American Film Festival on October 6, 2007, as part of the shorts program from 2:00-4:30 pm at 2300 N. Fort Valley Road at the Coconino Center for the Arts in Flagstaff, AZ.

About UAT: The University of Advancing Technology is a unique, private college that serves its student body by fostering knowledge creation and academic excellence in an environment that embraces the young technophiles of the world. With three centers of research and a suite of technology-centered undergraduate and graduate degrees, the University is a recognized leader in technology education.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.uat.edu/

http://www.indigenousaction.org/

Contact Information: CONTACT: Alan Hromas University of Advancing Technology 602-383-8272