amber minerals
swirl and
tunnels shi-
nálí’s throat
for thirst
his yellow
dough hands
hugged together
for biscuits
a scratched
windpipe elapsed
overtime he
coughs sore
for green
paper limbs
loose change
swap his
lungs and
kidneys clog
with mucus
the livestock
graze extra
parts running
fingers through
fur missing
hair his
hair yellow
yellowtails sink
and suckle
on red
blood cells
lemon crumbs
seep through
his window
screen split
wood walls
we are here
gold mine
water spills
San Juan
river flaxen
fish gills
crayola yellow
poison in
soil rotting
corn squash
sinkholes on
Diné reservations
yellow green
cesspools flood
shinálí’s home
floods my
aunt’s breast
inhaling dust
exhaling chemo
yellow clouds
fuss behind
Church Rock
residents enrage
our people
are seized
fenced by
cancerous filth
five hundred
abandon mines
took and
takes
more burials
wooden canes
velvet shirts
floral skirts
sweep and
vacuum royal
yellow from
sheetrock to
jumpsuits and
leather boots
lemon-crumbs
curl in
my aunt’s
bed slithering
on silk
pillows cradling
gold eyes
for hope
goodnight gold
blink sleep
Poem Copyright © 2022 by Boderra Joe. Originally published in Desert Teeth by Boderra Joe, published by Abalone Mountain Press.
About the poem: Uranium is a raw material that exists naturally in the earth. Small amounts of uranium are in almost all the soil, rock, and water in the world. It can move through the environment in rain, wind, and other natural processes. However, when uranium is extracted and processed during milling, it produces a yellow powder of uranium ore, which is referred to as yellow cake. This ore is key in producing nuclear fuel and nuclear weapons.
This led the U.S. government to extract nearly 30 million tons of uranium ore on or near the Navajo Nation from 1944 to 1986 to develop atomic weapons and nuclear power plants. Navajo uranium miners, such as my late paternal grandfather who is referred to as ‘shinalí’ in the poem, worked in the mines, and were exposed to the dangerous hazards without warning. Uranium miners and their families are still affected today. Uranium mining resulted in water sources with elevated levels of radiation, causing negative health effects including stomach cancer, lung cancer from inhalation of radioactive particles, bone cancer, and impaired kidney function.
Today, there are nearly over 500 abandoned uranium mines (AUM) on and near the Navajo Nation.
Authored by Boderra Joe
Boderra Joe is a Diné poet, journalist, photographer, and a teacher. She is the author of Desert Teeth (Abalone Mountain Press, 2022). She is the recipient of fellowships from Willapa Bay Artist-In Residence, the Indigenous Nations Poets (In-Na-Po), Naropa University, Idyllwild Arts, and the Bosque Redondo Memorial. Her work has appeared in the Academy of American Poets, New Mexico Poetry Anthology, Yellow Medicine Review, Green Linden Press, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA and a BFA in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts. She is Bit’ahnii (Folded Arms Clan), born for Tabááha (Water’s Edge Clan) and is from Bahastl’ah (Twin Lakes), New Mexico, on the Navajo Nation. She teaches high school English and Creative Writing at To’Hajiilee Community School.
Photograph Credit: Boderra Joe
