LAS VEGAS-March 10, 2010-The Nevada Test Site Oral History Project at UNLV, a comprehensive archive chronicling the lives of people affiliated with and affected by the Nevada Test Site during the era of Cold War nuclear testing, was named Outstanding Public History Project by the National Council on Public History.
The collection - including 335 hours of interviews with more than 150 people - is a five-year-long collaboration between faculty, staff and students of the UNLV College of Liberal Arts and UNLV University Libraries.
Mary Palevsky, director of the Nevada Test Site Oral History Project, said the test site's 40-year history of atmospheric and underground nuclear testing can be fraught with controversy, so it was important for the UNLV project to illustrate the personal stories of life at the test site and the site's role in shaping Southern Nevada history.
"There was much secrecy surrounding the site and little was known about its impact on the lives of many Nevadans," Palevsky said. "The personal accounts reveal reasons why some people chose to work at the site while others opposed the testing program, and give the public a chance to draw their own conclusions."
From September 2003 through April 2008, a wide range of oral history narrators participated in the project, including national laboratory scientists and engineers; labor trades and support personnel; cabinet-level officials, military personnel and corporate executives; Native American tribal and spiritual leaders; peace activists and protesters; and Nevada ranchers, families and communities.
The archive includes searchable transcripts, audio and video clips, photographs, documents and images and is housed at the UNLV University Libraries Special Collections department and is available online at UNLV University Libraries.
