The radioactive waste from the mining operations contaminated the land and the water. It was carried in the wind, into the homes, absorbed by their lungs, and even found its way into their food. My wife Tomi and I have been to the funerals of some of these miners who have died of cancer and lung diseases. We have heard the stories of the sheep and other animals born with deformities, the livestock dying from the water and the grass poisoned with the dust carried on the wind.
The Navajo tell the story of the “Yellow Choices.” It is told in various versions, and one is related in a fascinating book, Visits with the Old Indian Storyteller, by Tomi Jill Folk. This story is reprinted here with permission from the author.
The Yellow Choices
Long ago, the Great Mystery came to the people,and they were hungry, and the Great Mystery told the people, “You have a choice. You have a yellow choice. You can plant and grow, and your corn will have yellow pollen, and that will remind you of the friendship of the sun, and you will live in happiness and harmony, and you will know peace. This you grow upon the earth.
Or you can dig into the earth, you can wound and scar the Mother, and take the yellow stones. And if you do this, you will know suffering and pain and ignorance and great sorrow. And your children will pay for many generations yet to come for your ignorance and folly.”
Mount Taylor is a sacred mountain to the Navajo,and the nearby Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna, the Zuni and the Hopi. Yet greed, (and a lack of concern for the basic rights and respect for the religious traditions of these people), is driving a new wave of uranium mining, and this beautiful and sacred mountain is one of their targets. We attended a public hearing conducted without notice by the Nuclear Regulatory Agency last fall. At this meeting they explained the new method of mining called in-situ mining.
This involves the use of millions and millions of gallons of water. This land is desert. Water is precious. Water is life. They use chemicals to dissolve the uranium and the contaminated waste water is pumped back into the ground where there is the very real danger that it will enter the aquifers that supply water, not only to the native communities but the cities like Albuquerque, Soccoro, Las Lunas and many others. As the wind carried the yellow dust of yesterday’s mining, the water may well carry the poison of greed far greater distances tomorrow.
The claim is that this is needed for our energy independence. They tell us that this uranium is destined for nuclear power plants, and the intention is to build more of these plants. But aside from the risks that accompany the mining, there is a problem of waste disposal. The construction of nuclear power plants is incredibly expensive, the energy produced is also very expensive, and the nuclear power plant itself is an ideal target for terrorist attack.
There are safe, renewable resources, primarily wind and solar power. The development of these safe alternatives would employ far more people, are much safer for us today, and all of tomorrow’s children.
The uranium mined could well be used in the creation of a new generation of nuclear weapons. That we could even contemplate this will ignite a new arms race with the potential for horrendous consequences at the very time when we all need to be working toward a peaceful cooperation to solve the problems of climate change and global warming. This new interest in mining is a flawed and very short sighted effort based on fear by some and greed by others. There is a better way.
John Denver wrote a song Let Us Begin, also known as What Are We Making Weapons for? And performed it around the world including the former Soviet Union where he served as a muscical good will ambassodor. He was joined in many performances of this powerful peace song by the popular Russian tenor, Alexander Gradsky. This song appears on the John Denver CD, One World. This is a powerful message for peace. I encourage you to seek the lyrics to thsi song, or hear it on it on YouTube.
How can we possible put all of tomorrow’s children at risk like this? How can we scar a sacred mountain like Mt Taylor? How can we justify poisoning the earth while ignoring the logical alternatives? How can we be so short-sighted?
I applaud the leaders of Acoma, Laguna, Zuni, Hopi, the Navajo and the other Native Americans who have the vision and wisdom to fight this. I also ask that you, the readers of this blog speak up, write to your representatives in congress, Make your voices heard.
Thank you.
Peace, Hank Bruce
