Two case studies about minerals extraction on Indigenous land in the Southwest of the United States highlight the evolution that took place between the uranium extraction on Navajo land from the 1940s to the 1980s and the proposed Resolution Copper mine on Apache land, still in the permitting phase. While uranium mining during the Cold War did not consider the well-being of Indigenous Peoples, who are still suffering from the impact of radioactive pollution of their land and bodies, the fate of the copper mine is still undecided. Legislation in favor of Indigenous beliefs—and related land-rights—has been passed, but the pressing need for raw materials might override the wishes of the Apache lobby to safeguard an area that was part of their homeland before Arizona’s mining industry took over in the nineteenth century. Several issues are discussed, including: the resacralization of Indigenous land, the demand for “green” or “clean” energy without regard to its environmental and social cost, and the process of having to accept a sacrificial zone for the collective well-being of the population at large of the United States.