This thesis explores an underlying conflict that exists between Native Americans and non-Natives in United States society and that mostly translates into environmental exploitation or environmental...Show moreThis thesis explores an underlying conflict that exists between Native Americans and non-Natives in United States society and that mostly translates into environmental exploitation or environmental injustice. Native Americans differ from other minorities living in the United States, due to their sovereign status. Such a status, however, has not always shielded Native Americans from phenomena of marginalization or, as this thesis will prove, economic and environmental exploitation. The historical development of uranium mining in the last century gives a perfect illustration of this, and it will be used as a case study to explain the conflict being played out on tribal lands. The economic and sociocultural harms of this historical development have further entrenched Native Americans in the lowest socioeconomic layers of American society, and the repercussions of such a phenomenon of further marginalization will persist for future generations. Ultimately, this thesis argues for the importance of strengthening tribal sovereignty in the interest of preserving tribal tradition as well as the natural environment Native Americans inhabit.Show less
In the autumn of 1982, a relatively small and rural county in North Carolina called Warren County started the environmental justice movement. The allocation of a hazardous landfill to the county...Show moreIn the autumn of 1982, a relatively small and rural county in North Carolina called Warren County started the environmental justice movement. The allocation of a hazardous landfill to the county sparked this start. Residents argued that the landfill was only allocated to Warren County because the county was predominantly African American and poor. Protesters said that the authorities did not expect African American and poor people to have the political clout to significantly rebel against the construction of the landfill. Yet both African American and white residents strikingly did rise up together in a direct-action protest of roughly four weeks. Only a few years prior, both of those races had still lived segregated in North Carolina with their separate environmental struggles. Now, they were protesting together for an environmental concern. How did this unity come about? This study aims to provide a part of an answer to that question by focusing on how identity-rhetoric generated unity among African American and white people in Warren County. It concludes that two core narratives of race and class as well as the identity issues religion, public health, and the relation between governing authorities and citizens generated a sense of unity that incorporated all people of Warren County and even beyond.Show less
