Native American

NASA and the Navajo....Joke

When NASA was preparing for the Apollo
Project, it took the astronauts to a Navajo reservation in Arizona for training.

One day, a Navajo elder and his son came
across the space crew walking among  the rocks.

The elder, who spoke only Navajo,
asked a question.

His son translated for the NASA people:
"What are these guys in the big suits doing?"

One of the astronauts said that they were practicing for a trip to the moon.

When his son relayed this comment
the Navajo elder got all excited and asked
if it would be possible to give to the astronauts
a message to deliver to the moon.

Recognizing a promotional opportunity when
he saw one, a NASA official accompanying
the astronauts said, "Why certainly!"
and told an underling to  get a tape recorder.

The Navajo elder's comments into the
microphone were brief. The NASA official
asked the son if he would translate
what his father had said.

The son listened to the recording and laughed
uproariously. But he refused to translate. So
the NASA people took the tape to a nearby Navajo village  and played it for other
members of the tribe. They too laughed long
and loudly but also refused to translate
the elder's message to the moon.

Finally, an official government translator was
summoned. After he finally stopped laughing
the translator relayed the message:

"Watch out for these assholes.
They have come to steal your land."

Innocent Or Guilty?

American Indians/Native Alaskans and Lung Disease Fact Sheet

What do Native American women suffer from?

U-M researcher leads investigation of breast cancer disparities
among Native American women 

Native Americans and Cancer 

American Indians/Alaska Natives & Cancer 
Cancer rates which were previously reported to be lower in American Indian and Alaska Natives have been shown to be increasing in the past twenty years. Cancer is the second leading cause of death among American Indians and Alaska Natives over the age of 45. 

Cancer Mortality Among American Indians and Alaska Natives
United States, 1994--1998

Growing Cancer Threat Among Native Americans 
by Lois Baker 

Cancer Incidence Rates in Eddy and Lea Counties
New Mexico, 1970-1994 

Radioactive Racism

Nuclear Workers: Radiation on the Job

While the use of radiation in medicine has led to some unpleasant surprises, its presence in the workplace has served as a sort of early-warning system to the general population. "Since workers are first exposed and most heavily exposed," writes Dr. Irving Selikoff, "the workers give us first indication. Most things that cause cancer in society are discovered in the workplace."[1] Ever since Czech miners began digging for uranium four centuries ago, evidence has been piling up to indicate that radioactivity has been killing and debilitating people who work with it. Unfortunately the nuclear industry and its supporters in government have consistently resisted that conclusion, even to the point of suppressing numerous broad-based studies they themselves commissioned and then quashed when the conclusions went the "wrong" way. 

Killing Our Own: The Disaster of America's Experience
with Atomic Radiation

Index to RACHEL's Hazardous Waste News
Newsletters Issue #1 through #364

The High Cost of Uranium in Navajoland 
by Bruce E. Johansen 

When Native Americans in the Western United States were assigned reservations in the late nineteenth century, many were sent to land thought nearly worthless for mining or agriculture. The year 1871, when treaty-making stopped, was a time before sophisticated irrigation, and before dryland farming techniques had been developed. Industrialization was only beginning to transform the cities of the Eastern Seaboard and the demand for oil, gas and even coal was trivial by present-day standards. And, in 1871 Madame Curie had not yet isolated radium. Before 1900, there was little interest in locating or mining uranium, which later became the driving energy force of the nuclear age. 

Americans Fight for Ecological Justice 

Navajo Timeline 


Depleted Uranium, Recycling Death

GUARDIAN, UK - Depleted uranium, which is used in armor-piercing ammunition, causes widespread damage to DNA which could lead to lung cancer, according to a study of the metal's effects on human lung cells. The study adds to growing evidence that DU causes health problems on battlefields long after hostilities have ceased.0508 05 1DU is a byproduct of uranium refinement for nuclear power. It is much less radioactive than other uranium isotopes, and its high density - twice that of lead - makes it useful for armor and armor piercing shells. It has been used in conflicts including Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq and there have been increasing concerns about the health effects of DU dust left on the battlefield. In November, the Ministry of Defense was forced to counteract claims that apparent increases in cancers and birth defects among Iraqis in southern Iraq were due to DU in weapons.

Now researchers at the University of Southern Maine have shown that DU damages DNA in human lung cells. The team, led by John Pierce Wise, exposed cultures of the cells to uranium compounds at different concentrations. The compounds caused breaks in the chromosomes within cells and stopped them from growing and dividing healthily. "These data suggest that exposure to particulate DU may pose a significant [DNA damage] risk and could possibly result in lung cancer," the team wrote in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology. . . Prof Wise said it is too early to say whether DU causes lung cancer in people exposed on the battlefield because the disease takes several decades to develop. 

 "Our data suggest that it should be monitored as the potential risk is there," he said.

Public Citizen

Native American Calling