logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Navajo Nation Protests Lack of Aid following Mine Spill

Shafaq Hasan
September 9, 2015
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

Navajo Nation Parks

September 6, 2015; KOB-TV (Albuquerque, NM)

On the heels of announcing their pursuit of legal action against the Environmental Protection Agency, the Navajo Nation is now responding to FEMA’s refusal to provide assistance following the disastrous mine spill in Colorado that contaminated the Animas River in the Southwest and the San Juan River, a major waterway for the reservation.

As NPQ had reported, Navajo Nation president Russell Begaye asked FEMA to provide a disaster coordinator who could oversee the relief operations following a spill that officials say has handicapped the primarily agricultural society. However, FEMA has apparently declined to offer its services.

In a joint statement, Begaye and Vice President Jonathon Nez said:

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

We are extremely frustrated with the news that both FEMA and the U.S. EPA have declined our urgent requests to continue assistance to the Navajo Nation. U.S. EPA caused this entire disaster; they have harmed the people, the water and the land. I appreciated the fact U.S. EPA took responsibility and I was hoping for the U.S. EPA to prove to the Navajo Nation they are willing to hold themselves accountable. This action clearly shows otherwise. For years, we have consistently been at the receiving end of toxic spills and contamination with no adequate relief as the United States Government and Private Companies became wealthy off of the natural resources of the Navajo Nation. This is not the end but the beginning, as I will continue to fight for my people.

The situation at the reservation has not gone unnoticed by the media and activists. Erin Brockovich, an environmental activist who famously helped win a class action lawsuit against electric company PG&E for polluting the water in Hinkley, California, visited the Navajo Nation and some of the reservation’s high schools this past Tuesday. Brockovich accused the EPA for hiding the truth about the mine spill, which, the agency alleged, released 3 million gallons of pollutants into the water. Brockovich questioned whether this was a true estimate of the contamination in the water. (Previously, the EPA believed 1 million gallons were released, but this figure was amended to 3 million gallons.)

The EPA is currently investigating the spill, but regardless of the extent of the contamination, the Navajo Nation, which, like other tribal reservations, is already fraught with economic instability, undoubtedly requires further aid to sustain their society, which the nonprofit sector can provide.

Moving forward, as more information sheds light on the situation as it unfolds following the spill, it would behoove the nonprofit sector to consider where it fits into the equation. It might take a cue from Darlene Arviso, “The Water Lady,” a very nice woman who drives to 250 towns in the Navajo Nation each month to bring the residents clean water.—Shafaq Hasan

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
About the author
Shafaq Hasan

Shafaq Hasan is a Community Builder at NPQ. She is a graduate of Brandeis University where she majored in Art History and spent most of her time working in the office of the student newspaper as the Opinions editor, and later, as an Associate editor. As an undergraduate, she was also a research assistant for the Justice Brandeis Law Project at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism from 2011 to 2014.

More about: EnvironmentEnvironmental PolicyNative AmericansNonprofit NewsPolicy

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

Spring-2023-sidebar-subscribe
You might also like
Cancelling Student Debt Is Necessary for Racial Justice
Kitana Ananda
To Save Legal Aid, Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Zoë Polk
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of Housing Insecurity for Black Women
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Maile Chand and Andrea Flynn
The Human Impact of the Global Refugee Crisis Must Be Understood—And Acted Upon
Anmol Irfan
Black Americans Need Reparations: The Fight for the CTC Highlights the Roadblocks
Jhumpa Bhattacharya and Trevor Smith
America’s Heavy Metals Pollution: An Issue of Environmental Racism
Jonathan Sharp

NPQ Webinars

April 27th, 2 pm ET

Liberatory Decision-Making

How to Facilitate and Engage in Healthy Decision-making Processes

Register Now
You might also like
Cancelling Student Debt Is Necessary for Racial Justice
Kitana Ananda
To Save Legal Aid, Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Zoë Polk
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of...
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Maile Chand and Andrea Flynn

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

NPQ-Spring-2023-cover

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.