so..... can the sovereign Navajo nation sue the sovereign United States of America
1 hour ago
“They are not going to get away with this.”
That’s what Russell Begaye, the president of the Navajo Nation, had to say to Fox in response to the Environmental Protection Agency accidentally causing a massive spill of toxic sludge into Cement Creek.
The EPA was supposed to be decontaminating the sludge at a Colorado goldmine. Instead, they released it into the creek, where it traveled down the Animas, San Juan, and Colorado rivers.
Now, according to Begaye, the sludge is on its way to the Navajo Nation, the largest Indian reservation within the United States, and is due to reach Lake Powell by Wednesday.
“We are demanding from the U.S. EPA an immediate release of detailed information on the type of contaminants that is flowing into the river from the Gold King Mine,” Begaye said in a statement. “This is an all too familiar story on the lax oversight responsibility of the U.S. government. It is unfortunate that we have to once again tell our people to stay away from the river due to the release of dangerous chemicals into our water.”
And yet, people wonder why Native Americans are suspicious of mines, why Native Americans don’t trust the Keystone XL Pipeline, or why Native Americans want corporations and the federal government to just leave them and their lands alone.
I’m glad to see that the Navajo Nation is suing. The Navajo are sovereign, and they are not responsible for this mess.
It’s no wonder that green issues are so important to Native Americans. These are issues that affect them in very real ways every day.
I am reminded of the San Carlos Apache who are fighting a mining company trying to build a copper mine on their land. I am reminded, of course, of the Lakota, who have placed themselves front and center in the fight against the Keystone XL Pipeline.
When will we stand with them?
Careful what you wish for - EPA is in bed with the reservations up here, pumping up the Native's 'first rights' to water which extends well beyond the reservation to cover literally every drainage in the state.