Environmental Racism & the Indian Reservation

Environmental racism “describes the fact that people of color and low-income people are most likely to be situated near sources of contamination and away from clean water, air, and soil” (Covert). 

When it comes to water,  not only are “African Americans more than twice as likely as whites to live in a home with substandard plumbing,” but over “1 percent of black people live in houses without potable water and modern sanitation, compared to less than 0.5 percent of whites” (Covert). However, water isn’t the only environmental racism factor. When it comes to toxic waste, 56 percent of the population near these hazardous sites are people of color. People of color are “exposed to a level of nitrogen dioxide […] at an average rate 38 percent higher than white people” (Covert).

Why does environmental racism exists? People of color are more likely to be located near this contamination because of government policy created in the 1930s. This stems from federal housing agencies who aided whites in moving to suburban areas while “locking black people into crowded city centers” (Covert). This subjected blacks to poverty, while the whites had access to resources. Within the city, “these communities were routinely selected as dumping grounds for urban sources of pollution and contamination” and without political power or access to resources that the whites had, these black communities were unable to fight back (Covert). 


Environmental racism predates the 1930s. Over 5 Centuries ago, Christopher Columbus sailed in America and triggered "a series of events leading to the genocidal war on Indigenous people in whose land he arrived" in hopes of settling on this new land, which meant killing and enslaving millions of Indigenous people (Angel). Today, "the exploitation and assault on Indigenous people and their land continues" (Angel). Action was taken to make sure the land the Native Americans lived on was preserved as reservations, but, like the impoverished inner-city blacks, Native Americans are also subject to environmental racism. 

Indian reservations "have been and continue to be subjected to significant amounts of radioactive and otherwise hazardous waste as a result of living near nuclear test sites, uranium mines, power plants and toxic waste dumps" (EarthTalk). American Indians are among people of color who "have seen 95 percent of their claims against polluters denied by the EPA" (The Nation). According to Bayley Lopez of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, “the government and private companies have disregarded and broken treaties, blurred the definition of Native American sovereignty, and directly engaged in a form of economic racism akin to bribery" (EarthTalk). 

Environmental racism is a problem that has existed for centuries and often goes unnoticed. With increased awareness, we can recognize this problem and use our power and resources to advocate for those who can’t do so for themselves. 

Angel, B. The Toxic Threat to Indian Lands. A Greenpeace Report. (1991). Retrieved from http://www.ejnet.org/ej/toxicthreattoindianlands.pdf

Covert, B. (2016, February 18). Race Best Predicts Whether You Live Near Pollution. Retrieved from http://www.thenation.com/article/race-best-predicts-whether-you-live-near-pollution/

EarthTalk. Reservations about Toxic Waste: Native American Tribes Encouraged to Turn Down Lucrative Hazardous Disposal Deals. (2010, March 31). Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earth-talk-reservations-about-toxic-waste/

The Nation. Environmental Racism Is Nothing New. Graphic.