‘OPPENHEIMER HAD NO CONSIDERATION FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

"The bomb those men built? They dropped in on New Mexico to test it. On my mother. She was 18 months old, in the fallout zone.” - Alisa Lynn Valdés

Oppenheimer’ Has People Speaking Out About a Pretty Glaring Omission
By Autumn Alston

https://www.themarysue.com/oppenheimer-has-people-speaking-out-about-a-pretty-glaring-omission

"A professor at the University of New Mexico, Myrriah Gomez, had a great take on Oppenheimer after one of its screenings, as reported by Source NM: “Neither the project-wide site nor the Trinity site met the stipulations that the government required for either site.” Yet they went forward with it anyway, with disregard for the people who would be hurt, a fact that is glossed over entirely in the film. Individual people—especially indigenous people—have usually not been at the forefront of the government’s mind when they are on such a mission, and that was definitely true back during that time period. In the movie, a ranch school as the only real thing in the pair’s way as they seek to perfect their bomb."

"The first bomb was tested near the homes of mainly Hispanic and Native American residents. Choosing this area undoubtedly had racist intentions; no one would dare try and set up such a dangerous and toxic project in a middle-class/rich white area. The U.S. government had seized land from them in Northern New Mexico, Oppenheimer’s vacation spot, so he knew homesteaders in the area."

"In July of 1945, the Trinity Test took place, which was the first bomb detonation near Tularosa and the Mescalero Apache Reservation. Those who lived there were not a part of the process, and traveling back in time, there was no social media to say, “Hey, bombing coming soon to your neighborhood!” Many residents went to the site, not knowing at the time exactly what it was and what had transpired. They took artifacts, some of which would contain contaminated materials. They only learned about a month later that this was a nuclear bomb."

"Despite the focus of the movie, there definitely could have been more about these people, who have been brushed aside more than enough. According to Tina Cordova of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, no one from the Oppenheimer movie even contacted survivors."

"This is why the discussion surrounding Oppenheimer has to elevate the stories of those who lived through it, from all angles. Hollywood can tell whatever stories they like and we know that they will, especially when they see such huge box-office success. How many huge war movies failed to show the Black soldiers who fought for a country where they weren’t even free? But these films, while controversial, give us a great opportunity to do our research and better understand what marginalized people have suffered historically. "



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