WASHINGTON, DC – On Tuesday, a delegation of community members from Navajo Nation, Laguna Pueblo and Acoma Pueblo, as well as Hopi and Zuni, arrived by bus. They made this long trip to pressure Mike Johnson, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, to bring the expansion of the S.3853 Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to the table. First passed in 1990, RECA provided compensation and health care benefits to victims of radiation exposure from uranium mining and nuclear testing.
Their demonstration began on a rainy morning, marching to steady drums and the chant of “Pass RECA now!” Together with Navajo Nation President Buu Van Nygren and Chairman Crystalyne Curley, they carried distinctive uranium yellow signs and tribal flags through the gray streets of the nation’s capital. Their march ended at the Russell Senate Building for a press conference with their representatives. In attendance were U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Josh Hawley (R-MO) and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM), Gabe Vasquez (D-NM), and Melanie Stansbury (D-NM).
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The meeting began with comments from Senator Ben Ray Luján, who highlighted the tremendous efforts put into expanding RECA, and revealed that Biden has already pledged to sign.
“I believe in the power of prayer,” he said. “I want you to pray for Chairman Johnson to give him the strength and wisdom to get this legislation to a floor vote… to get this to the President of the United States.”
The renewal and expansion of RECA was approved by a 69-30 vote in the Senate in March and unfortunately expired in June. Johnson has not prioritized this time-sensitive issue. Uranium victims are left behind by the bureaucracy and continue to struggle with their medical needs. After the Cold War, Navajo miners were 28.6 times more likely to develop cancer, and uranium in the environment has been linked to a staggering increase in rare diseases.
“Folks, we’re here because this is about justice,” Senator Martin Heinrich followed, sharing personal experiences with his nuclear veteran father, who also suffered the effects of radiation. “Ultimately, it will be your stories that will motivate our colleagues and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to bring this legislation to the table, where it will passage.”
Inside the room, people held photos of their lost relatives. Veterans who returned from war but were lost to radiation; women who worked in the mines to feed their families. Historically, Navajo uranium miners worked under dangerous conditions, with little knowledge of the risks.
“It was about 3 o’clock in the morning when the sun came up in New Mexico,” Gabe Vasquz said. “It wasn’t the sunrises we were used to seeing. It was the Trinity test, and so New Mexicans have suffered generational impact for decades while being screwed…they say there’s no way you can still have that impact three generations later .’
Supporters of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium described the precipitation falling “like snow” and covering the land. The impact of the bomb would be felt for generations.
When asked about Speaker Johnson’s concerns about the costs, Senator Hawley responded: “The costs have already been paid, it has been paid by the people in this room. You want to talk about the cost of chemotherapy, the cost of cancer, the cost of lost loved ones, the cost of funerals, the cost of funerals, it’s paid for by the people in this room… The United States government is a debt owed to the people in this room.”
A 2022 study concluded that 11% of uranium mines are on tribal lands, but the majority of ore extracted came from this 11%. The largest mines were in Navajo Nation and Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico, which produced 52 million of the 75.9 million tons of uranium ore mined for defense-related purposes. The far-reaching danger to public health from this amount of production is enormous. Given the historical undercount of tribal citizens, the toll could certainly be higher.
On Wednesday morning, the coalition huddled in the atrium of the Cannon House Building, where they planned to deliver their message, their stories, directly to Speaker Johnson’s office. They crowded the hallway, but only five were allowed in at a time to speak. Some said prayers to the closed door and plaque as their comrades handed over stacks of medical bills detailing the costs of radiation exposure.
Sunset heralded a vigil of luminarios in front of the Capitol. Paper lights illuminated photos of lost loved ones. Each bag had a name on it, one of many lost to exposure to radiation and fallout. Elders said prayers and sang mourning songs. Members of the group then read a list of those lost, a haunting ten-minute chorus as they spoke over each other, each reading a different name. Pedestrians and bystanders were drawn to the display, moved by the monument.
“We represent a silent majority, the unspoken people who have not yet been born, and the dead who can no longer speak… In fact, we are here to tell them that what they are doing to us is not right,” he said. Navajo elder and flag bearer Kee Carl, who lost his uncle, a veteran and influential code talker, to radiation exposure.
The Navajo Nation has provided great service to the United States, and Native Americans have the highest number of draftees per capita. Service abroad was accompanied by sacrifices on home soil.
With the elections approaching, time is running out to get this act on Biden’s desk.
About the Author: “Levi \”Calm Before the Storm\” Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the founder, publisher and editor of Native News Online. Rickert was awarded the Best Column 2021 Native Media Award for the print category\/ online by the Native American Journalists Association. He is a member of the advisory board of the Multicultural Media Correspondents Association. He can be reached at levi@nativenewsonline.net.
Contact: levi@nativenewsonline.net
