Mining

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Questions and Answers

What was the primary reason for uranium mining on Navajo land in the 1950s?

To mine for natural gas and oil

To support the development of renewable energy sources

To provide electricity to Navajo communities

To support the nuclear arms race of the Cold War (correct)

How many uranium mines were dug and how many uranium-processing mills were built on the Navajo Nation?

Around 5,000 uranium mines and 10 uranium-processing mills

Over 1,000 uranium mines and 2 uranium-processing mills

More than 2,000 uranium mines and 4 uranium-processing mills (correct)

Less than 500 uranium mines and 1 uranium-processing mill

What is the current state of the air quality in the Four Corners region?

Comparable to a rural area with minimal air pollution

Among the cleanest in the country

Comparable to downtown Los Angeles (correct)

Significantly better than the national average

What percentage of Navajos still use candlelight to light their homes?

40 percent Signup and view all the answers

What was the largest nuclear disaster in US history, which occurred in 1979?

The spill of 98 million gallons of nuclear waste into the Puerco River Signup and view all the answers

What year was the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) established?

1990 Signup and view all the answers

How much compensation have many miners and their families received?

US$150,000 Signup and view all the answers

What was established by the late 1950s and early 1960s?

A link between lung cancer and radon exposure in underground mines Signup and view all the answers

What was the primary cause of death among miners in Eastern Europe who mined uranium ore in the late 1800s?

Lung cancer Signup and view all the answers

What is a significant environmental impact of uranium mining?

All of the above Signup and view all the answers

What was the primary reason for the delay in correcting the damage caused by uranium mining in the Navajo area?

The cloak of national security and paranoia of the Cold War era Signup and view all the answers

What was the likely reason for the lack of attention to the health and environmental risks associated with uranium mining in the Navajo Nation?

The Navajo Nation's lack of political power Signup and view all the answers

What was the primary motivation for private companies to externalize the costs of uranium mining?

To increase profits and reduce costs Signup and view all the answers

What was the likely reason for the lack of media attention to the health and environmental risks associated with uranium mining in the Navajo Nation according to Brugge?

The Navajo Nation's remote location from major media markets Signup and view all the answers

What was the likely impact of the private companies' decision to externalize the costs of uranium mining on the Navajo workers?

Delayed and inadequate compensation for health and environmental damages Signup and view all the answers

What is a common issue associated with mines on Native lands, according to Galina Angarova?

Increase in sexual violence and missing and murdered Indigenous women Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary goal of Galina Angarova and Kate Finn in working with electric vehicle makers?

To ensure Indigenous people's rights are respected in the supply chain Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of Kate Finn in the context of Indigenous people's rights and mining?

She is a member of the Osage Nation and works to promote Indigenous people's rights in the context of mining Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of free prior and informed consent in the context of mining and Indigenous communities?

It is a right that helps ensure Indigenous groups get a say in the mining process Signup and view all the answers

What is the outcome of Galina Angarova's work with Tesla, according to the passage?

Tesla has implemented a policy to respect Indigenous people's rights Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary motivation for Navajo miners to take up work in the mines?

To support their families and provide a college education for their children Signup and view all the answers

What is a notable difference between salaried and hourly employees at the mine?

Salaried employees are mostly non-Navajo, while hourly employees are mostly Navajo Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of Local 1924?

To act as a mediator between the Navajo people and Peabody Coal Signup and view all the answers

How does the union translate working-class culture into the Navajo context?

By informing Navajo coal workers of their working rights Signup and view all the answers

What is the outcome of the union's efforts in the context of the Navajo people?

The union helps to alleviate the difference between salaried and hourly employees Signup and view all the answers

What could the federal government create to support tribally owned corporations?

An ecosystem that allows tribally owned corporations to invest profits Signup and view all the answers

What could be incorporated into tax policy to encourage investment in critical mineral operations on tribal lands?

New specific tax credits for hiring Native American employees Signup and view all the answers

Why do tribal communities deserve real and lasting economic and social benefits?

Because they are being asked to offer their lands for a greater good Signup and view all the answers

What is necessary to ensure that tribal governments and their citizens benefit from critical minerals development on their lands?

Adequate consultation and inclusion in the project's planning Signup and view all the answers

What is the goal of creating an ecosystem that allows tribally owned corporations to invest profits?

To create wealth and income for tribally owned corporations Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Navajo Uranium Legacy

Uranium mining began on Navajo land in the 1950s to support the nuclear arms race of the Cold War.
Over 2,000 uranium mines and four uranium-processing mills were built on the Navajo Nation, spanning Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Environmental Impact

The Four Corners region, which is home to over 35,000 natural gas wells, thousands of oil rigs, refineries, and mine holes, has air quality comparable to downtown Los Angeles.
The region's air and water pollution have severe health consequences for the Navajo people.

Health Concerns

40% of Navajos still use candlelight to light their homes, and in some regions, children avoid the outdoors due to fear of radiation exposure.
The 1979 nuclear waste spill into the Puerco River, 100 miles south of Shiprock, New Mexico, is the largest nuclear disaster in US history, exceeding the Three Mile Island accident.

Energy Industry Plans

The energy industry plans to increase uranium production to meet the projected 2040 world energy demand of 40 kilowatt hours a year.
Mining companies, such as Hydro Resources Inc. and Strathmore Minerals, plan to resume uranium mining on the outskirts of the Navajo Nation.

Alternative Energy Potential

The Southwest region has vast potential for wind and solar energy development, with converting only 2.5% of the region's available solar radiation into electricity capable of matching the nation's total energy consumption for 2006.

Uranium Mining in the Navajo Nation

Uranium was mined for centuries before its radioactive properties were known, and its hazards to workers and nearby communities were slow to be addressed, taking many decades.
By the late 1800s, it was observed that miners in Eastern Europe who mined uranium ore died at an extremely high rate.
By the 1920s, it was shown that the disease was lung cancer, caused by radon daughter isotopes that deposited in the lungs and delivered high doses of alpha radiation internally.

History of Addressing Uranium Mining Hazards

It took until 1990 for Congressional action to establish a compensation program, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA).
RECA was flawed, resulting in unfair denial of compensation to many miners and their surviving families.
After a decade of advocacy led by Navajo people, RECA was amended to address many of the shortcomings of the original legislation.
Today, there continue to be complaints about the extent and nature of compensation decisions, but large numbers of miners and their families have received US$150,000 and more in compensation.

Abandoned Mines and Remediation

Thousands of abandoned mines and mills, and hundreds of homes built with mine waste remained after uranium mining petered out in the United States in the 1980s.
The process of addressing these sites went through multiple incremental phases, including a large, well-funded federal program to decommission the mills.
As late as 2015, most abandoned mines in the Navajo Nation have not been remediated at a satisfactory level.

Health Risks and Research

The link between lung cancer and radon exposure in underground mines was established by the late 1950s and early 1960s.
The risks that uranium mining might pose to the families of the miners and nearby residential communities went largely unstudied until about the turn of the century.
Federally funded studies at the University of New Mexico began around the turn of the century and continue to the present.

Factors Contributing to Delays in Addressing Uranium Mining Hazards

National security and paranoia during the Cold War may have contributed to the slow progress in addressing uranium mining hazards.
The status of the Navajo Nation, both as a tribe with a signed treaty and as an impoverished population with little political power, has played a role.
The Navajo Nation's remote location far from major media markets may have contributed to the slow response to uranium mining hazards.
Private companies' interests in externalizing costs, including health and remediation, to maintain profitability may have delayed action.

Minerals and Indigenous Lands

The growing demand for minerals like lithium and cobalt is driven by the production of electric vehicles and solar panels.
Over half of these minerals are found on or near lands of Indigenous peoples, including in Arizona.
The Hualapai tribe considers the waters of Ha'Kamwe' springs in Arizona sacred and healing.
Mining activity, including exploration holes for lithium, threatens the spring water and has already impacted the water level.

Impact of Mining on Indigenous Groups

Research shows that more than half of projects for energy transition metals are on or near Indigenous people's lands.
Mining operations can lead to air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution, loss of biodiversity, and loss of water.
Mines on Native lands have often led to increased sexual violence and missing and murdered Indigenous women.

A core issue for Indigenous groups is the lack of input on where and how mining happens, or if it happens at all.
Free prior and informed consent is a solution that allows Native groups to get a say in all steps of the mining process.
This right is not mandatory in the US and most of the world, but Indigenous leaders are working to get electric vehicle makers to codify it in their supply chains.

Industry Response and Changes

Some companies, like Tesla, have approved policies that expect suppliers to respect Indigenous people's rights.
The mining industry says higher standards for car companies have had a trickle-down effect, leading to increased engagement with Native communities.
Companies like KoBold Metals engage with Native communities before exploring, rather than after, which has been the industry standard.

The Navajo Nation and Coal Mining

The Navajo Nation is the largest Native American reservation in the United States.
Coal mining in the Navajo Nation is seen as a result of economic dependency, resource curse, modernization, and cultural conflict.
However, the perspectives of indigenous actors involved in these industries are often missing from these frameworks.

The Moral Economy of Navajo Coal Workers

The moral economy of Navajo coal workers is built around a logic of subsistence, summarized in the Navajo expression "t'aa hwó ajı t'eego", which emphasizes the concept of hard work and self-sufficiency on their traditional lands.
This moral economy is rooted in the Navajo "subsistence ethic" and is an expression of a collectively held ideological claim about what is the proper order and distribution of resources.
The moral economy is not just about individual interests, but also about the collective well-being of the community.

Navajo Coal Workers and Their Experiences

Navajo coal workers have a strong sense of place rooted in their traditional homelands and have resisted moving into towns and cities.
They have worked on development strategies that bring industry into the reservation.
For many Navajo people, dressing nicely in new clothes and owning new trucks are signs of a good work ethic and a reflection of hard work.

Contestation and Complication within the Navajo Nation

The terms of complication and contestation surrounding coal mining within the Navajo Nation are unique to the social and political actors involved.
The Navajo Nation Council has played a role in the extension of the coal mining lease, despite environmental concerns.
There is internal contestation among Navajo people, with some supporting coal mining and others opposing it due to environmental concerns.

Historical Context

The history of coal mining in the Navajo Nation is marked by a pattern of settlers buying time with tribal nations in unequal negotiations, only to unilaterally abandon them in the end.
The Navajo Nation has a long history of resistance to external forces, and the current debate around coal mining is part of this larger struggle.

Coal Industry in the Navajo Nation

The Navajo Nation is a place built on embedded subsistence values, which inform the nature of Navajo incorporation into regional capitalism.
Navajo coal workers have mobilized to prevent mine closures, resulting in lost revenues and layoffs.
Since 2006, two of the four long-standing coal mines within the reservation have permanently closed.
The Navajo Nation Council was considering renewing a lease to keep the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) in operation until 2044, which provided 90% of the power for the Central Arizona Project (CAP).

Coal Mining and its Impact on the Navajo Nation

The geography of coal mining in the reservation requires a focus on the specific groups and actors within and without the reservation who shape competing energy politics.
Navajo coal workers have a sense of livelihood that is not simply a reflection of dependency or opportunity; it is fundamentally a sense of livelihood tied to their cultural ways.
The understanding of the coal industry for workers is not reduced to theories of employment, modernization, dependency, and underdevelopment, environmental damage, risk, or settler-colonialism.

Moral Economy and Indigenous Actors

Moral economy broadly refers to embedded beliefs about economic rights.
Ideas of moral economy are documented as far back as historical records show.
Indigenous actors are on the opposite end of the dynamic, where the transition from subsistence to wage-labor life is sometimes "telescoped" into a single generation.
Navajo workers repurpose the Navajo subsistence logic of t'aa hwo ajı as a right to work and a right to meaningful livelihood.

Labor and Livelihood in the Navajo Nation

Physical labor for survival, perceived as "hard" work, was reemphasized in Navajo men's work.
Seasonal employment in non-Native industrial agriculture, rail, road, and housing construction drew Navajo men away from the household economy for months at a time.
Women took responsibility for subsistence agriculture, herding sheep, weaving rugs, and other local forms of industriousness.

Unions and Tribal Governments

Unions are not a common organization in reservation communities, and tribal governments continue to have ambivalent relationships with them.
The union helps to alleviate the difference between salaried and hourly employees and acts as an important mediator between the Navajo people and the company.

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Critical Minerals and Native American Reservations

The demand for critical minerals, essential for energy transition and national security, is growing rapidly, with the majority of reserves located on or near Native American reservations.
Tribal communities, despite being the largest landowners outside the federal government, experience persistent poverty and are among the poorest communities in the US.

Historical Exploitation of Native American Communities

Mining on tribal lands has been marked by economic exploitation, broken agreements, stolen lands, environmental disasters, and health problems for Native American communities.
Between 1944 and 1989, nearly 30 million tons of uranium ore were extracted from Navajo lands, causing lingering health problems and environmental contamination.

New Opportunities for Equitable Mining

Modern sustainable techniques can limit the physical impact of mining and processing activities, and new international protocols can ensure local tribal communities are engaged throughout the process.
The Thacker Pass lithium mine in northern Nevada, located on traditional lands of the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe, is expected to produce enough lithium to supply batteries to roughly one million electric vehicles per year.

Community Benefits and Tribal Sovereignty

Tribes can benefit from mining projects by working with developers on community benefits plans (CBPs) that include commitments related to jobs, workforce development, and procurement opportunities.
Any new approach to mining should recognize and respect tribal sovereignty, providing tribes more control over and access to mining profits, potentially through ownership stakes or developing their own mining companies.

National Dialogue and Policy Updates

A national dialogue is needed to acknowledge past inequities and establish a common agreement of basic tribal rights.
Existing US laws and regulations should be updated to include new protocols that seek not just consultation with affected tribal communities, but their consent.
The federal government should create an ecosystem that allows tribally owned corporations to invest profits into creating and increasing wealth and income over the next decades.

Economic Incentives and Tax Policies

New federal economic incentives, such as tax policy levers, could be considered to make critical minerals development on tribal lands more economically attractive.
Existing tax credit-based programs, like Opportunity Zones, New Market Tax Credits, or Production and Investment Tax Credits, could be used to encourage investment in critical mineral operations on tribal lands.

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Description

Learn about the history of uranium mining on Navajo land and its environmental consequences on the region's air and water quality. Discover the impact of uranium mining and drilling on the Navajo Nation.