The history of military waste and contamination on Indigenous lands is a tragic tale that continues to unfold today. In June 1942, Japan’s invasion of the Aleutian islands in Alaska prompted the activation of the Alaska territorial guard, a volunteer Army reserve consisting largely of Alaska’s Indigenous peoples. These volunteers, including Aleut, Inupiak, Yupik, Tlingit, and others, became known as the “Eskimo Scouts” as they bravely defended their homeland during World War II.
After the war ended, the U.S. military approached the Yupik people of Sivuqaq, also known as St. Lawrence Island, to set up “listening posts” to gather intelligence during the Cold War. The Yupik people, known for their patriotism and willingness to serve, agreed to this request. However, their trust was ultimately betrayed as the military abandoned their bases on the island, leaving behind a legacy of toxic pollution.
Viola Waghiyi, a Yupik environmental health advocate, has been at the forefront of the fight for justice for her community. She has witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of military contamination on her people. The land on Sivuqaq is now polluted with toxic chemicals such as fuel, mercury, and PCBs, known as “forever chemicals” due to their persistence in the environment.
In response to the ongoing contamination, Waghiyi and the Alaska Community Action on Toxics recently filed a complaint to the United Nations special rapporteur on toxics and human rights. The complaint highlights the violations of human rights caused by the military waste on Sivuqaq, including the right to a clean and healthy environment and Indigenous peoples’ right to free, prior, and informed consent.
This submission is part of a global effort to raise awareness of military toxic waste, with the United Nations collecting public input on the issue until April 1. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, responsible for overseeing the cleanup of the former military bases on Sivuqaq, has spent over $130 million on remediation efforts. However, a 2022 study found that the cleanup has been inadequate, with persistent organic pollutants and toxic metals still leaching from the site.
The contamination has had severe health impacts on the Yupik people, with high levels of mercury and PCBs found in fish near the former military bases. Waghiyi herself is a cancer survivor and has experienced multiple miscarriages, while her father died of cancer and her mother had a stillborn child. Despite these tragic consequences, the U.S. military has failed to adequately address the contamination and its effects on the community.
As the fight for justice continues, Waghiyi and her community are determined to hold the military accountable for the harm they have caused. They demand that the land be restored to its original state and that the health and well-being of the Yupik people be prioritized. The struggle for environmental justice on Indigenous lands is far from over, but advocates like Waghiyi remain steadfast in their commitment to seeking redress for past wrongs and ensuring a sustainable future for their community. The impact of military nuclear testing on Indigenous lands and communities in the United States continues to be a pressing issue. Citizens of the Navajo Nation in Arizona and Yakama Nation in Washington are among those who are raising concerns about the ongoing effects of nuclear testing on their lands and health. In the Marshall Islands, fishing around certain atolls is discouraged due to high rates of toxicity resulting from nuclear testing and other military training activities. Additionally, on Guam, chemicals from an active Air Force base have contaminated parts of the island’s sole-source aquifer, which serves 70% of the population.
Last year, a federal report highlighted the threat of climate change potentially unearthing more U.S. military nuclear waste in both the Marshall Islands and Greenland. In 2021, the Navy in Hawaiʻi inadvertently poisoned 90,000 people when jet fuel leaked from aging underground storage tanks into the drinking water supply, despite years of warnings to upgrade or remove the tanks. The federal government has also spent hundreds of millions of dollars to remove unexploded ordnance from the island of Kahoʻolawe in Hawai’i, a former bombing range, but the island remains hazardous due to the risk of more ordnance being unearthed as a result of extensive erosion.
Recently, the Alaska Community Action on Toxics filed a complaint calling on the United Nations to intervene by urging U.S. federal and state agencies to uphold a 1951 agreement between the U.S. government and the Sivuqaq Yupik people. This agreement prohibited the pollution of the land and mandated protection of the resources critical to the Indigenous Yupik inhabitants’ sustenance. It also required the military to leave the island in the same condition in which they found it to ensure the health and well-being of the community.
“The import of the agreement was clear: The military must not despoil the island; must protect the resources critical to Indigenous Yupik inhabitants’ sustenance; and must leave the island in the condition they found it, which ensured their health and well-being,” the Alaska Community Action on Toxics stated in their complaint.
The burden of dealing with the consequences of military activities on their lands is one that Indigenous communities did not create, yet they continue to bear the brunt of the environmental and health impacts. It is crucial for government agencies to acknowledge and address these issues to ensure the well-being and rights of Indigenous communities across the United States.
