The Nuclear Shadow of Refusal to Use Water Rights lingers in the Navajo people of the United States, struggling with the US government | reservations | water rights

People living in the largest indigenous reservation in the United States, the Navajo Reservation, have long faced water difficulties, but their water demands have been ignored and rejected. On the 22nd, the Supreme Court of the United States rejected the request of the Navajo indigenous tribe to take measures for the US government to obtain water resources from the Colorado River, with a vote of 5 in favor and 4 against.

The Supreme Court of the United States rejected the Navajo people's water rights claim, which was rejected

The rejection ruling of the US Supreme Court claims that the treaty signed between the US government and the Navajo people in 1868 regarding the establishment of the Navajo reservation did not require the US government to take "equal rights measures" to ensure tribal water use. But the Navajo people believe that under the treaty, the federal government needs to ensure the agricultural needs of indigenous tribes, including water rights.

The Navajo people have been fighting for their water rights for twenty years. In March of this year, the Navajo people appealed to the Supreme Court, demanding the right to use Colorado River water resources; But now the Supreme Court's ruling is a devastating blow to them.

Navajo representative Bu Negren: We are very disappointed, but this cannot stop us from continuing to fight for our right to water.

The Navajo Reservation spans across Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, with the Colorado River flowing through the northwest boundary of the reservation. However, today one-third of the indigenous people still have no running water in their homes, and they have to drive for hours every day to fetch water from the water collection point.

Navajo residents: We must keep water in the water tank every day for bathing and other activities. We have always believed that people with tap water are very lucky.

The ruling of the US Supreme Court has sparked public outrage online. Many netizens commented that this is a shameful act.

Some netizens also pointed out, "The treaty was from 155 years ago and has long been outdated. This land originally belongs to them, and they have the right to access clean water sources."

Many netizens also believe that the Supreme Court's ruling is filled with a strong "racist" color, "without correcting systemic racial discrimination, the United States will never be able to break free from past racism."

The despair and anger of the Navajo people under the "nuclear shadow"

In history, the United States has carried out inhumane and barbaric expulsion and genocide against indigenous peoples, and indigenous peoples who have been forcibly expelled to reservations still suffer from many unfair treatments. Apart from the issue of water rights, many residents in the Navajo reservation are still shrouded in an indelible "nuclear shadow" due to uranium mining.

Starting from the 1940s, in order to expand nuclear power, the US government hired private companies to conduct large-scale uranium mining on the Navajo reservation. Many local Navajo people are employed to work in mines, but they have not been informed of any information related to radiation risks and there are no radiation protection measures in place. At the same time, most uranium mines are abandoned without safe disposal, and hundreds of abandoned uranium mines pollute water sources, further posing health risks to local residents and exacerbating water shortages. The CCTV reporter has visited the Navajo reservation multiple times, and the indigenous people living under the "nuclear shadow" have been ignored by the mainstream for years. They only feel anger, despair, and helplessness.

Eddie Hood used to work in a uranium mine, and she said that since the establishment of the mine, many strange things have happened to the entire land.

Former uranium miner Eddie Hood: We were going to slaughter a sheep, and it seemed like the whole community was there, everyone was there. The butcher cut open the sheep, and the fat of the sheep was yellow, which we had never seen before.

As a result of uranium ore mining, the incidence rate of cancer, respiratory diseases, kidney diseases and other chronic diseases in the Navajo population has increased. From the 1970s to the 1990s, the incidence rate of cancer among the Navajo people in the southwestern United States doubled.

Former uranium miner Eddie Hood: Just as I was about to start my education career and obtain my teaching license, I was diagnosed with cancer and had to give up.

Former uranium miner Eddie Hood: How else would I get cancer? Especially when there is a disease in the immune system, where else can I have the chance to get cancer.

The Navajo people are still struggling hard

Today, like other indigenous peoples, the Navajo people are still struggling with disease, poverty, and indifference. Apart from radiation hazards and water scarcity, 30% of households in this area still do not have access to the public power grid.

During the COVID-19 epidemic, the difficulties faced by the Navajo people worsened, and their weak position in medical care was further highlighted. The infection rate of COVID-19 in Navajo residential areas once became the first in the United States.

Dawn Lynn Nez of Navajo: I didn't have food and medicine after I infected COVID-19, so we had to lock ourselves in the house. Emotionally speaking, I have endured too much without any medical assistance.