reversed the Nation's policy about uranium mining. While the 1983 moratorium was affirmed for open-pit and underground mining, the in-situ leaching of uranium now is welcomed.

The full text of the Resources Committee resolution and background documents are available through ADAMS .

U.S. Supreme Court says federal courts, not Indian tribal courts, must decide cases re impacts of former uranium mines to Navajo communities

Federal courts, not Indian tribal courts, can decide whether federal limits apply to allegations that nuclear-industry activities caused harm on Indian land, the Supreme Court said on May 3, 1999. Ruling unanimously in a case involving uranium mining on the Navajo reservation in Arizona, the court said federal law pre-empts tribal courts from ruling on such cases. (Law News Network, May 3, 1999

)

"In 1995, respondents Laura and Arlinda Neztsosie, two members of the Navajo Nation, filed suit in the District Court of the Navajo Nation, Tuba City District, against petitioner El Paso Natural Gas Corporation and one of its subsidiaries, Rare Metals Corporation. The Neztsosies alleged that on the Navajo Nation Reservation, from 1950 to 1965, El Paso and Rare Metals operated open pit uranium mines, which collected water then used by the Neztsosies for a number of things, including drinking. The Neztsosies claimed that, as a result, they suffered severe injuries from exposure to radioactive and other hazardous materials, for which they sought compensatory and punitive damages under Navajo tort law. App. 18a—27a. In 1996, respondent Zonnie Richards, also a member of the Navajo Nation, brought suit for herself and her husband’s estate in the District Court of the Navajo Nation, Kayenta District, against defendants including the Vanadium Corporation of America, predecessor by merger of petitioner Cyprus Foote Mineral Company. Richards raised Navajo tort law claims for wrongful death and loss of consortium arising from uranium mining and processing on the Navajo Nation Reservation by VCA and other defendants from the 1940’s through the 1960’s."

> View Supreme Court decision No. 98-6: EL PASO NATURAL GAS CO. v. NEZTSOSIE of May 3, 1999

Impacts of Uranium Mining at Port Radium, NWT, Canada

On January 15, 1998, the European Parliament adopted an urgency resolution in favour of indigenous peoples concerned from uranium mining, and against the Jabiluka project in Australia, in particular.
Swedish Greens launch motion for Global Justice - Indigenous Peoples and Uranium Mining in Parliament.

U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirms: Navajo Tribal Court can hear claims against former Kerr-McGee uranium mill

"Kerr-McGee milled uranium on the Navajo Reservation between 1952 and 1973, leasing land for the mill site from the tribe. Kerr-McGee sold the mill's entire production to the federal government. In 1995, defendants (the "Tribal Claimants"), who are members of the Navajo Tribe and residents of the reservation, filed a complaint in Navajo Tribal Court, alleging that the Kerr-McGee mill released vast quantities of radioactive and toxic materials, causing them injuries. Before the tribal court had proceeded with the case, Kerr-McGee filed the instant suit."
> View July 24, 1997 Court decision: Kerr-McGee v. Farley

TEXTS

Australian Senate Select Committee on Uranium Mining and Milling Report , May 1997
(view report's chapter 5 and the following research paper)

Impact of uranium mining on aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory , by Irene Wilson (179k)

Transcripts of the Australian Senate Select Committee on Uranium Mining and Milling Hearings (1996/1997)

Indigenous Peoples Uranium Speaking Tour in Europe - Fall 1997 (For Mother Earth International)
Uranium Mining Plan Splits Navajo Communities in New Mexico
The Uranium Industry and Indigenous Peoples of North America
Four Directions Council statement to UN Commission on Human Rights, reviewing the health dangers and locations of uranium mining.
Arizona's Havasupai and uranium mining in the Grand Canyon
Havasupai Fight To Save Grand Canyon From Uranium Mining
Navajo Uranium Radiation Victims (Kerry Richardson)
Report on the 4th Indigenous Uranium Forum (Kerry Richardson)
Navajo Uranium Miners fight for Compensation (Timothy Benally)
Compensation of Navajo Uranium Miners
Impacts of Jaduguda uranium mine on Bihar indigenous people (India)
The World Uranium Hearing : Testimonies - Lectures - Conclusions

LINKS

Nuclear and Toxic Waste, and Mining Links - Native Americans and the Environment
Dineh Alliance
Diné CARE (Citizens Against Ruining our Environment): Uranium Radiation in the Diné Bikeyah

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bibliography: Toxic and Nuclear Wastes - Dumping on Native American Reservations
> See also: Bibliography · Deutschsprachige Literatur zu Uranabbau International

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