PUMA For Life

Cheyenne River Radioactive: Poisoned Water Used on Lakota Sioux Reservation

The town folks who live in Red Shirt Village , South Dakota , which is located on the northwest corner of the Pine Ridge Reservation, have recently discovered that the alpha radiation level in the Cheyenne River is above the Environmental Protection Agency’s Maximum Contaminant Level.

 

The town of Red Shirt , which is located on the south side of the Cheyenne River , is a village site that is thousands of years old to the Oglala Sioux people. The recent discovery of the radiation pollution of the Cheyenne River is particularly alarming as many have lived here all of their lives, growing gardens with water taken from the Cheyenne River and fishing for catfish, bass, and turtles.  In the summer months, the river is used for swimming and other recreational pursuits. 

 

A local environmental group called Defenders of the Black Hills has been working for years to get the State of South Dakota to clean up the old uranium mines in the area without much success.  It was Defenders Coordinator Charmaine White Face who was approached by Red Shirt Village regarding the river, because the town was interested in using the river water to irrigate a community garden.  A local well that had been used in the past for this purpose was found to be radioactive.

 

White Face conducted the water sampling survey of the river. In addition to the high alpha radiation level, the testing also indicated a serious lack of aquatic life in the river. Hmmm, I guess fish don’t do well in radioactive water.

 

As a result of the findings, Red Shirt Village placed these signs along the river warning of the radiation present in the waters. 

The Defenders are also conducting a letter writing campaign to stop any further uranium mining in the Black Hills until the old mines are cleaned up and sealed over.  They are asking interested people to write two state representatives, Bernie Hunhoff and Gerald Lange, asking for a moratorium on new mines and for the cleaning up of the old ones.  They have had no luck in the past with the Governor of SD, Mike Rounds, who apparently doesn’t care about the high cancer rate in his state or the poisoning of a river.

 

Since we are now living in the Age of Hope and Change, I sincerely hope that the people of South Dakota start taking some action on the radioactive nature of the land and waterways in their state.  It may seem oh, so unimportant, because the people most directly affected live on an Indian Reservation, but guess what, the river doesn’t sit still, it flows.  And the radiation in the old mines doesn’t sit still, it spreads through the earth.  And the radiation doesn’t know the difference between an Indian Reservation and a white man’s village.  Hope that scares a few people.  Maybe Governor Rounds should put that in his not-very-peaceful pipe and smoke it.

 

If you would like to help out with the letter writing campaign, you can get copies of the letters on the Defenders of the Black Hills website:

 

http://www.defendblackhills.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

 

Or, at the Republic of Lakotah website: http://www.republicoflakotah.com/?p=943

 

You can read the report on the Cheyenne River here: http://www.defendblackhills.org/document/uraniumcheyenneriver.pdf

Black Mold Infects Housing on Pine Ridge Sioux Indian Reservation

Due to the high level of black mold present in housing on the Pine Ridge Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota , the Lakotah Nation has declared a health emergency.

 

The serious health consequences of black mold infestation are well documented.  Also known as Strachybotrys chartarum or Strachybotrys atra, this mold has been closely linked to the death of babies from respiratory bleeding, and as a contributing factor to illnesses such as asthma and bronchitis.

 

The federal government has been aware of the black mold problem on the reservation for years.  Former Senator Tom Daschle, and Obama’s choice for Health and Human Services Secretary, was reporting on the situation back in 2004.  A report released from his office stated:

 

On South Dakota ’s reservations, it is estimated that over 900 homes are infested and remediation may cost between $10,000 and $40,000 per unit. Tribes currently don’t have the funds to deal with the problem and Senator Daschle has recently asked the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to issue promised department recommendations to address the problem.

 

And in 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency reported:

 

On the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, black mold:

 

• Has been found in 75% of the 1,700 tribal housing on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.  
• Causes sickness and poor health among tribal members.  
• Health effects include chronic sinusitis, severe headaches, fungal skin infections, upper and lower respiratory illness; cancer cases rising and diabetesworsening.  
•  Diabetes found to be 800% higher on this reservation than U.S. national average.    

The housing on the reservation is government issued.  The government has been aware there of the problem since 2004. Tom Daschle has known about this problem for at least four years and has accomplished absolutely nothing, zero, in terms of remedying the situation. We wonder what, if anything, will change now.

 

The following video, Toxic Housing, was produced by Russell Means and the Lakota Nation.

For more information:

 

http://www.epa.gov/osp/tribes/tribal/SciencePriorities.pdf

 http://www.sdpb.org/Archives/ProgramDetail.asp?ProgID=2471

http://www.republicoflakotah.com/? 

p=547