Energy Exploitation and the Ban on Uranium Mining in Navajo Country

by Democracy Now (reposted)

Tue, May 31, 2005 9:03AM

The president of the Navajo Nation approved legislation last month banning uranium mining and processing on Navajo territory. We host a debate on energy exploitation with Navajo President Joe Shirley and Earl Tully of Dine Care, a Navajo environmental organization.

President Joe Shirley approved legislation last month banning uranium mining and processing on Navajo territory. There is currently no mining on the Navajo reservation but Hydro Resources Inc. has been working with the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission for years to try to get approval for mining near the Navajo communities of Crownpoint and Church Rock, New Mexico. The company estimates nearly one-hundred million pounds of uranium exists on those sites.

Companies mined land in Navajo country for forty years and the impact is still felt. Navajos have suffered from high cancer rates and respiratory problems. Their land has been dotted with contaminated tailings and abandoned mines.

* Joe Shirley, President of the Navajo Nation.
* Earl Tully, Vice President of Dine Care.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/31/1349229

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