4 - War Production and Growing Pains

Summary

Chapter 4 focuses on the problematic nature of Navajo uranium and coal development following the end of World War II. By not revealing the dangers involved and holding back information on the value of the resources, the U.S. government facilitated particularly destructive forms of development while failing to ensure the tribe received fair compensation. The current reliance of the Navajo Nation on extractive industries for jobs and government revenue can be traced, in part, to the inequities in bargaining position and legal authority over the land that surround the mining agreements approved by the tribe in the early part of the self-determination period.