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Navajo Advocacy Group Says "Haul No" To Uranium Transport on Reservation

Austin Cope
/
KSJD

An Indigenous-led advocacy group called “haul no” is touring the Navajo Nation and surrounding towns to organize against the transport of uranium mining materials on the reservation.

 

Though Navajo leaders have passed resolutions prohibiting the transport of radioactive materials through the reservation, state and federal regulations still allow mining companies to transport radioactive ore, wastewater, and other materials to the White Mesa Uranium Milll. “Haul No” Volunteer Leona Morgan says that is a violation of tribal sovereignty and a hazard to public health.

 

“We have the right to live healthy, safe lives, without having any undue from these types of trucks and facilities,” Morgan says.

 

The group hopes to spread awareness and public opposition to uranium transport and mining in general, and has held events in Bluff, Monument Valley, and Kayenta. They continue their tour farther south in the reservation and in Flagstaff next week. 

 

KSJD's Austin Cope spoke with Haul No volunteers Klee Benally, Sarana Riggs, and Leona Morgan to learn more about their stance.

 

Austin Cope is a former Morning Edition host for KSJD and now produces work on a freelance basis for the station. He grew up in Cortez and hosted a show on KSJD when he was 10 years old. After graduating from Montezuma-Cortez High School in 2010, he lived in Belgium, Ohio, Spain, northern Wyoming, and Himachal Pradesh, India before returning to the Cortez area. He has a degree in Politics from Oberlin College in Ohio.
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