SONYA BEGAY
Sonya Begay found her mission late in life so she is older than most of the interns at the International Institute of Indigenous Resource Management (IIIRM). After having three children and two grandchildren she now says, "My interest is mainly in environmental policy and Indian tribes. I saw the institute's web page and decided to apply for an internship to see what would happen and 'poof,' I am here."

Begay grew up in Baldwin Park, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, and worked for 12 years as a researcher in the library of the federal court. That experience spurred her interest in law and federal jurisdiction.

For her internship, Begay is working on an exploratory project studying how the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb that ended WWII, affected the Pueblo communities around Los Alamos, New Mexico in the 1930's-50's. "We are looking at the oral history phase at this point. A lot of people who were maids and workers who went up to this facility to work, are willing to talk to me about how the facility developed and how it affected them. I think it's a story that needs to be told," said Begay. "I'm trying to gather documentary letters and photographs as well. Right now we are collecting raw data … anything we can find. We're bringing all this information together and sifting through it to see which way we can go with our research."

A member of the Navajo tribe, Begay attended Navajo Community College in Tsaile, Arizona and got a bachelor's degree in sociology from Eastern Kentucky University. "When I was an undergrad I did an independent study on the health effects of uranium melt down on the Hopi and Navajo tribes. With further study I discovered that the majority of the run off had been affecting people and no one had done anything about it.

"I discovered that other Indian tribes have the same problem with gold mining. With Los Alamos, they have problems with contaminants which have been inadvertently dumped over the years and that it was leaking into their ground water and affecting air quality. We are looking at a facility that never took a look at the effects of this on the tribes. There are problems with birth defects, etc. and you never hear about it."

Begay said she will be working on the Los Alamos project for a year. "Being with the Institute gives me a hands on project where I can deal with people and understand their plight. I love working at the Institute. In Kentucky no one knew what I was talking about. It went right over their heads. Here, there is a compilation of people who understand what I want to do with my life and they have similar goals and I enjoy that. I have found a place."

As an independent person and a single parent, Begay says it's been extremely difficult raising her family and going to school, "but I have finally found my niche and I want my children to understand what I am doing." In the next phase of her internship, Begay is going to Germantown, Maryland where she will work at the U.S. Department of Energy continuing her research on Los Alamos.

"In the meantime I am applying to law school so after the duration of the internship I will go to law school and specialize in Indian policy and especially in environmental issues. Some one needs to go in and help them out."