An Indian tribal view of the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle: historical and cultural lessons

The Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the Yakama Indian Nation have entered into cooperative agreements with the US Department of Energy to oversee the cleanup of the Hanford Reservation. The Mescalero Apache Tribe and the Meadow Lake Tribal Council have come under severe criticism from some ''ideological pure'' Indians and non-Indians for aiding and abetting the violation of Mother Earth by permitting the land to be contaminated by radioactive wastes. This paper suggests that this view of the Indian relationship to nature and the environment is too narrow and describes aspects of Indian religion that support tribal involvement in radioactive waste management. (O.M.)