They took shelter amid the poison

Here's a four-part story in the LATimes coming today through Wednesday about how uranium mining has affected Navajos over the years and what the government hasn't done about it.

During the Cold War, uranium mines left contaminated waste scattered around the Navajo Nation. Homes built with it silently pulsed with radiation. People developed cancer. And the U.S. did little to help.

I first got acquainted with this problem several years ago when I read People Of Darkness by Tony Hillerman, one of a series of novels about Navajo tribal policemen Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn.

Our Southwest and its Navajo culture are just an interest of mine, and I pass this on to whomever else might be interested as well.