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Article Dans Une Revue ELOHI Peuples indigènes et environnement Année : 2012

Uranium Mining on Sacred Land

Résumé

Large uranium deposits were discovered on the flanks of Mount Taylor (NM-USA) in the early 1950s and were mined to fuel the nuclear military and civil industries. The uranium boom lasted up to the 1980s when the mines started to shut down. This region of New Mexico is the homeland of the Navajo and several Pueblos –Laguna and Acoma– who found employment in the mining operations. The harmful effects of low-level radiations gradually appeared in the Western states where nuclear testing and mining affected local inhabitants. In 2005, the Navajo Nation outlawed any form of uranium mining and milling. However, most mines are located on non-Indian land, public or private, over which the Navajo have no jurisdiction, and another group claiming indigenousness –the Hispanic owners of a Spanish colonial land grant– would like to reopen a uranium mine. They consider it their right to have employment opportunities in a rural area of New Mexico where the alternative would be a 55-mile (approx. 90 km) commute to Albuquerque.

Dates et versions

hal-01673652 , version 1 (31-12-2017)

Identifiants

Citer

Susanne Berthier-Foglar. Uranium Mining on Sacred Land. ELOHI Peuples indigènes et environnement, 2012, Les peuples indigènes face au reste du monde, 2, pp.79 - 94. ⟨10.4000/elohi.304⟩. ⟨hal-01673652⟩

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