by Tim Peterson, Cultural Landscapes Director
October 2024 was a busy month for community leaders from White Mesa, Utah. In addition to the White Mesa Concerned Community and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe’s annual spiritual walk and protest, leaders held a rally on Utah’s Capitol steps to speak out against the injustice of the White Mesa Mill, America’s last licensed operating conventional uranium mill.
Located near the White Mesa Ute community and Bears Ears National Monument, the mill was supposed to have closed and cleaned up decades ago. But it’s still in operation, and community leaders are concerned for the health of their people, plants, animals, land, and water.
White Mesa Concerned Community members rally at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on October 4, 2024. TIM PETERSON
On October 4, as the mercury topped 90 degrees in Salt Lake City, leaders from White Mesa met with Utah regulators to discuss their concerns, then made their way to the Capitol steps.
White Mesa Concerned Community leader Thelma Whiskers told the assembled crowd: "…it hurts when the mill is close to a reservation. It is, it hurts. And I care for my people, my relatives, my children, my grandchildren, my friends… I care for them, and I don't want them to get sick. And a lot of my elderly told me, 'Don't forget. Don't forget. Fight for your people, fight for your tribe… I'm proud of you Thelma, that you're living here on White Mesa even though you are close to the mill.'"
The White Mesa uranium mill, north of the Ute community of White Mesa. TIM PETERSON
The White Mesa Mill accepts radioactive wastes from across the nation and around the world for processing, something the mill’s owner characterizes as "recycling," but that could, in many cases, also be characterized as waste disposal for a fee. A company executive told investors that the corporation makes $5-15 million a year accepting, processing, and disposing of these wastes at the White Mesa Mill.
To date, more than 700 million pounds of the material have been disposed of at the mill. According to Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Councilman Malcolm Lehi, "We want the government to understand…It's not about the money, it's about the lands and the people who live in this area."
The mill’s owner is also seeking to acquire more radioactive materials form the nearby Navajo Nation. Coupled with a push to mine uranium at the company’s Pinyon Plain (formerly Canyon) and La Sal Complex mines, there are plans to dig even more waste pits, increasing the mill’s footprint and prolonging the life of the mill.
"“I'm really, really concerned about a lot of our sacred sites that were destroyed [when] the mill [was built]," said Yolanda Badback of White Mesa Concerned Community. "I don't want [the mill] to expand either, so that's why I'm fighting. I want my community to have good air quality, good water resource, our native herbs that are grown in the area."
White Mesa community members lead the spiritual walk to protest the White Mesa Mill on October 12, 2024. TIM PETERSON
A week after the Capitol rally, the community’s October 12 spiritual walk and protest broke attendance records. More than 100 people joined the five-mile trek from the community center in White Mesa to the entrance of the White Mesa Mill.
Speaking before the rally, PANDOS co-founder Carl Moore said, "…the uranium mill is on Indigenous land. It might be not on the political boundaries designated of Indigenous land, but it is Indigenous land. ... And in that, it's a responsibility that this government has to protect the people's rights to life."
The front walkers in the White Mesa Concerned Community's spiritual walk from White Mesa to the uranium mill. TIM PETERSON
Though the mill’s presence so close to the White Mesa community is deeply troubling, participants in the walk were joyful as the miles passed beneath their feet. Radio host Dave John broadcast songs of healing by Native artists at the head of the procession, keeping the group prayerful.
Near the mill entrance, speakers and singing closed out the walk.
Anferny Cly sings near the mill entrance, at the close of the White Mesa Concerned Community's 2024 spiritual walk. TIM PETERSON
"I'm doing [this] for my community, because I love my community and I care for our people …I will always do this spiritual walk annually until I get my goal achieved by cleaning up the mill or closing the mill down," said Yolanda Badback.
"What we're doing here is making history even though it seems so little. This is a never-ending battle and a never-ending fight," added Yolanda’s son Anferny Cly.
As Councilman Lehi wrote in an op-ed published in the Salt Lake Tribune: "When the mill was built, religious places, sacred sites and burials of our ancestors were destroyed. If the mill expands, as its owners want it to, it will surely destroy more…we grow more concerned for the health of our people and our young ones each day."
The day of the walk, Lehi told the crowd: "It's always an honor to be here with Yolanda's family and see what's going on and be a part of it — a tribal community sticking together to the end is what it's all about."
We hope you will join the walk next fall; all are welcome.
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