Navajo Nation President deploys police to stop unlawful uranium transport on tribal lands

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — The President of the Navajo Nation announced earlier today that he was sending police to stop the transport of uranium across tribal lands. In his statement, President Buu Nygren said that the shipment was being done illegally. He also stated the lack of notice from the mining company posed a danger to his people.

“The lack of notification to the Navajo Nation is a blatant disregard for our tribal sovereignty and exposes our Diné people to toxic uranium,” Nygren said. “A substance that has devastated our community for decades.” 

The legacy of uranium and the Navajo Nation

During the development of the first nuclear bomb and the subsequent nuclear arms race, Navajo lands were home to a large number of uranium mines. Sites across the Colorado Plateau, many of them on the Navajo reservation, were used to extract millions of tons of high-grade uranium ore.

But the booming Cold-War era mines were poorly regulated. Mining companies neglected to inform workers, many of them Navajo people, of the health hazards related to radiation. The federal government established the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, which began establishing regulations for worker safety. But by then immense damage had already been done to the Navajo reservation and people.

Even as laws and regulations began to take effect, government agencies enforced them poorly on tribal lands. Rates of lung cancer and other diseases like tuberculosis skyrocketed among Navajo uranium miners. Environmental contamination from uranium mining persists to this day.

Related: Abandoned uranium mines threaten Navajo people

The Navajo Nation bans uranium mining and shipping

In 2005, the Diné Natural Resources Protection Act outlawed uranium mining and processing on Navajo lands. Cleanup of contaminated areas continues, but cancer rates remain elevated among the Navajo population.

The Navajo Nation passed a tribal law in 2012 banning the transport of uranium on the reservation, which covers portions of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. But the law does allow an exception for certain state and federal highways.

The illegal shipment

Energy Fuels Inc., the largest uranium provider in the United States, agreed to give the tribe notice before hauling uranium across exempted highways. According to Nygren, the tribe only found out about the shipment after trucks had departed. 

Related: Uranium is being mined near the Grand Canyon as prices soar and the US pushes for more nuclear power

Nygren dispatched tribal police to turn away the shipment. But, according to the Associated Press, the trucks left tribal lands before police could intercept them.

“As president, I do not approve of this transport and will continue to fight to ensure our people are protected from the actions of Energy Fuels,” Nygren said.

Several news outlets, including the Associated Press, reached out to Energy Fuels, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

While Tuesday’s shipment quickly left tribal lands, no guarantee exists that Energy Fuels will honor their agreement in the future. President Nygren has vowed to use roadblocks to prevent further shipments of uranium while the tribe develops regulations.

For Nygren and the Navajo Nation, the fight to protect their people is only just beginning.