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Article: Navajos ban uranium mining: a new law bans all uranium mining and processing on Navajo land.
- Article from:
- Earth Island Journal
- Article date:
- September 22, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Earth Island Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Navajo (Dines) who have lost family members from radioactive contamination--and those fighting new proposals for uranium development--celebrated the passage April 19 of the Dine Natural Resources Protection Act of 2005. Navajo Tribal Chairman Joe Shirley's signing of the Act into law signaled a bold step in protecting the and southwest's most precious natural resource--water--from mining contamination. The Act bans all uranium mining and processing anywhere on the Navajo Reservation.
"It's very simple: Uranium kills," said Navajo Council delegate Mark Maryboy. "This legislation just chopped the legs off the uranium monster," added Norman Brown of Dine Bidziil, a ...