Corbin Harney | Shoshone leader, 87

Corbin Harney, 87, a spiritual leader of the Western Shoshone who challenged the federal government - and once his own tribe - to oppose nuclear weapons on aboriginal land, has died.

Mr. Harney, a fixture at antinuclear rallies, died Tuesday of complications from cancer near Santa Rosa, Calif., where he had hoped to finish a book, according to his family.

"Corbin was a World War II veteran and was known around the world for his activism against radioactivity and nuclear weapons," said Robert Hager, a lawyer for the Western Shoshone tribe.

Hager recalled that Mr. Harney bucked his own tribe when the federal government in the 1950s unearthed remains of Western Shoshone ancestors while digging at the Nevada Test Site north of Las Vegas.

"He was someone who just had this gentle spirit but a steely resolve that people should do the right thing," Hager said. "He thought people would eventually come around and realize the harm people were doing to Mother Earth."

Mr. Harney traveled around the world as a speaker and environmentalist. He received national and international awards and spoke before the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
- AP