Saturday, December 21, 2013
Once again sacred to Indians is profitable to White man
One of the richest uranium deposits in the US is underneath a site on the Navajo reservation and sacred to the Navajo and other local tribes. So once more we have the scenario of Indians trying to protect their religion from the white man's religion, greed.
“It would be like, let’s say, plowing down the Vatican, for instance,” said Gregg Shutiva, the governor and executive leader of the Acoma Pueblo tribe. “Even a road that is established by taking, let's say, a grater, and removing the first foot of dirt. That may disturb cultural sites.”Other local concerns are residual health problems from uranium mining from the 50's and 60's and potentially overdrawing and polluting the water table. And to make matters more appalling, the mining company is a consortium of a Canadian and Japanese company. On the white mans side, the mining companies have money. Needless to say, they are hoping that greed will win out.
Mount Taylor is considered sacred by the Navajo people, as well as the Acoma, Laguna, Zuni and Hopi tribes, and many sites on the mountain are central to the tribes’ oral history and religious practices. According to Shutiva, mining operations could affect about 70 acres of land in the area that’s been designated by the Forest Service as traditional cultural property.
“Taking our concerns as native peoples into consideration, especially about sacred sites, could be a welcome idea for us because we want to be heard and we want to protect what we have,” he said.
But Velasquez said Strathmore Minerals is committed to avoiding damaging culturally sensitive sites, adding that an archaeologist will be hired to observe mining activities in the area.
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