American Indian Culture and Research Journal

The Navajo people perceive the world as an interconnected whole. This applies to religion, concepts of health, and their view of themselves in relation to the world. In effect, a disruption in one part of their lives creates a disharmony in the overall system. This disruption not only creates stress on the individual but threatens the Navajo fabric of life. In the late 1940s and 1950s the Navajo fabric of life was disturbed by the ill effects of uranium mining. With the rise of the Cold War, the United States government opened uranium mines in the Four Corners area of the Navajo Nation and remained the sole purchaser of uranium for defense purposes from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. During this period, the government offered higher paying jobs to local Navajo people in return for uranium. The Navajo were Unaware of the dangers associated with uranium mining and radon daughters. In contrast, the federal government was hardIy naive about the situation when it allowed thousands of Navajo people to face hazards to their health and their lives in the pursuit of the rich resources underneath reservation lands. The hazardous conditions in the mines eventually led to lung cancer and respiratory diseases that cause severe disability or death.