Barren Lands and Barren Bodies In Navajo Nation: Indian Women WARN about Uranium, Genetics, and Sterilization

Authors

Marie Bolton
Nancy C. Unger, Santa Clara UniversityFollow

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

3-22-2019

Publisher

Peter Lang

Abstract

Founded by Native American women in 1974, "Women of All Red Nations (WARN) insisted that the ongoing Indian public health crisis could not be properly understood exclusively within the context of the exploitation and pollution of the physical environment. It required as well an understanding of the larger context of Indian health issues evolving out of past and present cultural and political changes. This article focuses on selected health, threats affecting the Dine, or "the People," as Navajo Indians call themselves, living in Dine Bikeyah (Navajo Nation) during the mid to late 20^th century. Navajo history is marked by a series of catastrophes befalling the health of its people and lands, and reactions by both the Dine and the federal government. The 20^th century Navajo story combines the concurrent tragedies of forced Indian sterilizations with the calamitous health consequences of uranium exploitation that continue into the 21^st century. This context must not be ignored when assessing the difficulties involved in establishing a trusting relationship between the Navajo people and outside researchers and health care providers.

Chapter of

Medicine and Health Care in the Countryside: Historical Approaches and Contemporary Challenges

Part of

HlSTOIRE DES MONDES MODERNES

Editor

Marie Bolton
Patrick Fournier
Claude Grimmer

Comments

Accepted Manuscript that has been published in Medicine and Health Care in the Countryside: Historical Approaches and Contemporary Challenges edited by Marie Bolton, Patrick Fournier, Claude Grimmer in the series HlSTOIRE DES MONDES MODERNES.

The original work can be found at: https://doi.org/10.3726/b15223.

© Peter Lang AG 2019. All rights reserved

Recommended Citation

Marie Bolton and Nancy C. Unger, “Barren Lands and Barren Bodies in Navajo Nation: Indian Women WARN about Uranium, Genetics, and Sterilization” in Medicine and Health Care in the Countryside: Historical Approaches and Contemporary Challenges (Peter Lang, 2019): 373-392.