nuclear-news

The stripping of Australian Aboriginal land for the nuclear industry

In May 2010, Ranger – a uranium mine in the Kakadu which local indigenous people resisted since the 1970s – released large quantities of radioactive water into ecologically sensitive wetlands. And in late 2010, controversy emerged over attempts by local officials and mining giant Rio Tinto Alcan to sideline independent indigenous voices during negotiations to re-sign leases for the Nabalco bauxite mine. (Irving, 2011)
Sound familiar? Anyone heard of Tar Creek? Closer to home (relatively), in Oklahoma, there exists an Environmental Protection Agency superfund site called Tar Creek. A terrifying documentary, directed by Matt Myers in 2007 , detailing an American history in which mining for lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) had been allowed on Native American territory regardless of the Indigenous community’s consent and rightful concern (those in the Bureau of Indian Affairs who objected to the mining were overruled as incompetent and stripped of authority). Over a hundred years has passed and the exploitation had left both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities marginalized and suffering from Pb and Zn poisoning and water pollution…….

non-governmental organizations , interested in Indigenous human rights, continue to present one example after another in which land tenure and native rights of forest peoples are being ignored.

As we moved forward into the 21st century, consuming our way through limited resources, we need to re-consider the cost of our fuel, our technology, our lifestyles; and I’m not talking about in the sense of pounds, euros or dollars. Your tank of gas, my computer’s electric consumption, is costing us our humanity. The price paid is the continual marginalization, oppression and dehumanization of the original inhabitants of colonized territories. They are losing their culture, their livelihoods, their country.

We can help. We can change. That’s the greatest part about being human: we’re quite resilient and adaptable. Start thinking about where things come from, support those who do it right and debunk those who don’t.

Debunk unjust mineral extraction propaganda that tells you that everything is all right: April Fools, it’s not. Support research that shows that Aboriginal land management equates to a healthy environment and truly see that Australia is amazing.

WIP Talk: Aboriginal Land Management Equates to a Healthy Environment

April 14, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, indigenous issues