Rural Alliance for Military Accountability (RAMA) Records

Collection

Identifier: 97-29

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Rural Alliance for Military Accountability Records is divided into five series: land withdrawal, Skyguard, military/defense issues (other than land withdrawal), nuclear issues, and miscellaneous.

Series 1, Land Withdrawal, treats the topic of the withdrawal of public lands to be reserved for military use, a topic of much interest in Nevada and other western states. This series includes texts and discussion of military land withdrawal acts of 1984, 1986, 1987, and 1991; transcripts of hearings related to the Bravo 20 bombing range near Fallon, and general information about the process of withdrawing land from the public domain. Reports, clippings and testimony provide data about military overflights and the danger of unexploded ammunition on public lands.

Series 2 consists of materials used to print the Skyguard newsletter, published by RAMA. The series contains graphics and photos used in publication, logo artwork, results of a survey conducted by Skyguard, and some business records.

Military/defense issues are the subject of Series 3. Topics include airspace, arms resources build down and talks, the defense budget, military hazards and toxic wastes, chemical weapons, lasers, Star Wars, and Stealth. Also included are folders pertaining to various individual states. This series is arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Nuclear testing, nuclear waste, and radiation hazards form the bulk of Series 4. The topic is treated both generally and specifically as it relates to sites such as Rocky Flats Nuclear Bomb Factory and Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Colorado; Idaho; Livermore, California; Yucca Mountain, Nevada; and others. This series is arranged alphabetically.

The miscellaneous series contains an eclectic range of topics: Native American issues, farm workers, gaming in Nevada, poverty, and rural America. This series is also arranged alphabetically.

Dates

1981-1993

Creator

Rural Alliance for Military Accountability (Creator, Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Materials must be used on-site; advance notice suggested. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Administrative History

The Rural Coalition is a national alliance of organizations dedicated to the development and implementation of public policies which will benefit rural Americans and their communities, especially those that are poor or otherwise disadvantaged. The Coalition has about 120 member organizations which are working together on such issues as agriculture and food policy, rural employment and job creation, community development, natural resources, and the plight of Native Americans. In the 1980s the Rural Coalition created the Rural Military Issues Project which is designed to give rural Americans a greater voice in the decisions of the Pentagon which affect their lives.

This collection consists of information from a variety of sources collected to provide data and awareness on four major topics: military land withdrawal, Skyguard, military /defense issues (other than land withdrawal), and nuclear issues. In addition, a miscellaneous section touches more briefly on other topics. Types of materials include clippings and journal articles, correspondence, brochures and flyers, reports, essays, text of national legislation, statements before the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and a few photographs. This collection does not include business records of RAMA or affiliated organizations.

Extent

8 Linear Feet (8 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Rural Coalition is a national alliance of organizations dedicated to the development and implementation of public policies which will benefit rural Americans and their communities, especially those that are poor or otherwise disadvantaged. Materials collected or created by RAMA include information about the withdrawal of public land for military use in the western U.S. and Nevada; Bravo 20 bombing range near Fallon, Nevada; production of the RAMA newsletter, Skyguard; military airspace; military arms resources build-down; military hazards and toxic wastes; chemical weapons; nuclear testing and wastes in Nevada and other states; radiation hazards; nuclear storage sites; Native American issues; poverty in western America and rural America.

Arrangement

Arranged into the following series: 1) Land Withdrawal; 2) Skyguard (Newsletter); 3) Military/Defense Issues; 4) Nuclear Issues; 5) Miscellaneous

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Grace Bukowski in 1997. Additional materials received in 2009.

Separated Materials

The collection as donated included dozens of environmental impact statements on corresponding topics. Those materials have been transferred to Government Documents of the University Libraries.

The collection was accompanied by a few visual materials. Photos used as illustrations for Skyguard Newsletter were kept with the file folders. The other materials consisted of videos and a slide show which were transferred to the photographic archives of the Special Collections Department as collection number UNRS-P1998-17.

The videos and slide show were:

"Nuclear Graveyard," a CNN Cable News Network special presentation from the Nevada Nuclear Waste Project Office (23 minutes), 1991; "Arjun Makhijani" interview on Firing Line TV show, July 1, 1991; "NDOT Aviation Planning", undated; "The Ride to Wounded Knee" undated; "Nuclear Waste in Nevada: A Live Presentation" KNPB Channel 5, Reno, January 31, 1992; "Native American MRS [Monitored Retrievable Storage] Meeting, Albuquerque, New Mexico," May 15-17, 1992; Slide show: "Military Airspace Slide [show]".