🚀 go-pugleaf

 Americans generate over 432,000 tons of waste per day, more than
80% of which ends up in landfills. (Steger and Bowermaster 117)
This growing problem created by our consumer-oriented society has
been easy to ignore with the "not in my backyard" mindset so
prevalent in our communities.  But the trash does not just
disappear.  Waste disposal has become a booming business and one
which all too often takes advantage of economically depressed Native
American populations.  Superficially, locating landfills on Indian
reservations may seem to be an ideal solution.  After all, not only
is the garbage disposed of in an "acceptable" fashion (away from us)
but employment and income are also generated for the Native American
people so desperately in need.  But in actuality, rather than
alleviating our increasing problem with waste we are compounding it,
and in the process we are further contributing to the annihilation
of the Indian people.

The proposed Campo Indian Reservation Landfill is one example.  The
reservation, located approximately 60 miles east of San Diego, will
be the site of the 400-acre project designed to handle 3,000 tons of
solid waster per day for 30 years.  The landfill will be constructed
and operated by an Ohio based company, Mid-American Waste.
According to Ralph Goff, chairman of the Campo Indians, the project
is expected to generate approximately 100 jobs and at least $50
million for the 300-member band.(Barfield)

As a proponent of the landfill, Goff seemingly has the best
interests of the tribe in mind.  He claims, "It's not the answer to
everything, but it's a giant step forward.  It opens the door.  It
gives us that first step to being self-sufficient and
self-governing."  The lease with Mid-American stipulates that tribal
members, who have been plagued by unemployment, will receive
preferential hiring for manual labor and heavy equipment operation.
In addition, Goff claims that the expected millions of dollars in
profits from the project will be used to improve the tribe's
housing, education, and medical care.(Barfield)

Despite his good intentions, Goff may be condemning his tribe and
tribal lands to continued exploitation and ultimate destruction.
Although the promise of jobs fosters hope for the struggling tribe,
a closer look reveals the suppressive nature of the agreement.  The
Indians are guaranteed "preferential" hiring for the jobs requiring
little or no education, paying low wages, and offering no chance for
advancement, while experts will be imported for "highly technical
aspects of operations, such as monitoring groundwater." (Barfield)

In addition, landfills depress property value, contaminate the air
and groundwater, and increase mortality and morbidity rates in the
surrounding area. (Steger and Bowermaster 117)  A 291-acre lake
located in a small town near Miami illustrates the consequences of
contamination by leakage from garbage.  Bordered by a landfill, the
lake now offers a death sentence; fish thrown into its waters die
within 30 seconds.  This same contamination can seep through the
soil into the groundwater, which is the community's source of
drinking water.(Steger and Bowermaster 117)  The danger to the tribe
is even more significant because, as their attorney points out,
"They don't have the option of picking up and moving." (Barfield)

Native Americans are not the only ones who will suffer as a result
of our "out of sight, out of mind" mentality.  As long as we
continue to separate ourselves from the consequences of our actions
by "dumping" them on someone else there is little motivation, or
even recognition of the need, to seek long-term solutions to our
waste problems or alternatives to our disposable-product based
society.  The United States alone generates over 150 million tons of
trash per year. (Steger and Bowermaster 121)  What will happen when
we there are no longer any poor and desperate people left to
economically coerce into storing our trash?  We are simply running
out of room.  If we continue to poison our environment at the
current rate soon we too, like the Indians, will have nowhere left
to go. 

Lora Alonso
ww10bbr@sdcc2.ucsd.edu



    Works Cited

Barfield, Chet."Controversial Landfill Wins Federal Approval." The
San Diego Union Tribune. 28 April   
     1993.

Barfield, Chet."County Suit Against Landfill At Campo Reservation
Fails." The San Diego Union Tribune.
     29 January 1994.

Steger, Will and Jon Bowermaster.Saving the Earth.1990.