Navajo leaders urge Biden to block transport of uranium ore across tribal lands in Arizona

Navajo leaders have implored President Joe Biden to block transportation of uranium ore through the Navajo Nation, particularly on State Route 89 and U.S. Highway 160.

Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren signed a resolution passed by the Navajo Nation Council asking Biden to explore the use of all available executive authority to stop transportation of the uranium ore from a mine south of the Grand Canyon across tribal lands to a mill in Utah.

In a letter to Biden, Nygren said the issue is of critical importance and threatens the health, well-being and cultural integrity of tribal members. 

“We are writing to you as the President of the Navajo Nation and Speaker of the 25th Nation Council, representing the voices and concerns of the Diné people,” Nygren said in the letter. “Mr. President, we urgently request the support of the White House to address these critical issues.”

Only last year, Nygren and Navajo Speaker Crystalyne Curley celebrated with Biden as he signed a proclamation establishing the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in Arizona. The monument bans new uranium mines on about 1 million acres near the Grand Canyon, but Pinyon Plain Mine was exempted as an existing operation, even after tribal and environmental groups attempted to stop it through the courts.

The letter emphasized that the monument designation was in line with the tribe’s commitment to permanently prohibit new uranium development that could negatively impact the Grand Canyon ecosystem. 

Supporting the monument "underscored Navajo Nation’s opposition to the transportation of uranium through Navajo lands," the letter said. "Such actions not only pose risks to our communities but also run counter to our sovereign rights to uphold our laws and safeguard our territory."

But on Dec. 21, Energy Fuels announced that it had "commenced uranium production" at Pinyon Plain Mine. The mine, in the Kaibab National Forest, has recently increased uranium mining activity, and the company plans to transport the uranium ore across Navajo Nation lands on State Route 89 and U.S. Highway 160 to the White Mesa Mill in Utah.

Energy Fuels officials have said the ore itself poses no health risks during transportation and have pledged to impose safety measures for the trucks moving the rocks.

But decades of contamination from past uranium mining have deepened opposition among Navajo leaders. The Diné Natural Resources Protection Act of 2005, enacted by the Navajo Nation Council, prohibits uranium mining and processing on Navajo lands, reflecting "the nation's commitment to safeguarding its people, land, water and culture from additional harms posed by the mining of uranium."

A 2012 measure made clear the nation's position: "The Navajo Nation opposes generally the transportation of radioactive and related substances, equipment, vehicles, persons and materials over and across Navajo Nation lands, except for purposes of transporting uranium ore or product currently left within the Navajo Nation from past uranium mining or milling operations for disposal at appropriate long-term facility outside of Navajo Indian country or at an appropriate temporary facility within Navajo Indian country and approved by the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency.”

Still, because the roads on the route are on state and federal rights of way, the council can't prohibit transportation.

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Activists: A letter is a start

Leona Morgan, co-founder of Haul No! as well as a community organizer and activist, believes the letter to Biden is a first step and thinks it may be the brainchild of tribal leaders who have taken the time to engage with community members and grassroots organizers to educate themselves.

"Reaffirming the law is great to show the world that the Navajo Nation wants to uphold its sovereignty," Morgan said. "But this is something that will take a lot more than a letter. For us as a nation, what does that mean for us for our future."

But this small step is something she and other grassroots community members would like to see for other similar issues across the Navajo Nation, and not only one. One example, she said, are the abandoned uranium mine cleanup plans currently being discussed.

“It’s great to see this initiative on the federal level. But it would be great to see this all the time with every uranium issue,” Morgan said. “This just shows how as Indigenous people, we are being bombarded by huge energy corporations, and if our leaders aren't educated, we are going to have to keep fighting these battles.”

The lack of understanding among tribal leaders regarding the gravity of uranium issues is troubling, especially given the current global context surrounding nuclear energy, she said.

Morgan said during the International Uranium Film Festival held in March in Window Rock, Curley and a couple of other Navajo leaders actively engaged and took the time to listen and put a lot of emphasis on Curley strongly behind this letter.

"I applaud Speaker Curley, I believe she is the one leading this effort," Morgan said. "I support our leaders trying to find ways to stop this threat. But looking at the bigger picture, at the larger looming threat, what can we do if the United States is not going to respect our sovereignty."

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How will Nygren, Biden respond?

Morgan said she has yet to get a response from Nygren to meet and discuss these concerns, but she did meet with Navajo Vice President Richelle Montoya awhile back.

“I believe this legislation is coming from leaders who are listening to the people,” Morgan said. “If President Nygren was actually educated on the issue, he shouldn’t have agreed when Biden first created the national monument.”

When Morgan talks about the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in Arizona, she is referring to Nygren’s news release on the national monument and how there was no mention of the Pinyon Plain Mine, ore transport or the exemption that allowed Pinyon Plain to operate.

With elections a few months away, Morgan mused at what stance or action Biden will take on this letter, especially since it's widely believed he won Arizona during the 2020 election on Native votes.

“What is President Biden going to do? He won Arizona with the Native vote,” Morgan said. “For him to sign this national monument in August and then declare commitment by the United States to triple nuclear energy by 2050, he’s kind of contradicting himself."

The Biden administration is reportedly trying to reestablish U.S. leadership in nuclear energy. Russia supplies approximately 44% of global uranium enrichment services and 20% to 30% of enriched uranium product used in the U.S. and Europe. The Biden-Harris administration has been working to sever that dependency to secure the U.S. energy future, according to the Department of Energy.

Last month, the U.S. Senate passed HR 1042 that could ban import into the United States of enriched uranium from Russia as early as 90 days after enactment. Experts say it's more likely the final version of the measure will encourage a gradual reduction of Russian uranium imports between now and the end of 2027 and then ban them entirely from Jan. 1, 2028, through Dec. 31, 2040.

"If this law goes into effect, that the United States will no longer purchase Russian uranium, where are we going to get it from?" Morgan asked. "It's really interesting to see what Biden will do with this request from our president and speaker. But for us, to have the president and speaker put this forward to President Biden, it is a small step, but it is also great to have this. But, they also need to be prepared to back it up."

Arlyssa Becenti covers Indigenous affairs for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Send ideas and tips to arlyssa.becenti@arizonarepublic.com.

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