University of New Mexico KIVA club members hope to spread awareness of Gold King Mine spill which has affected farmers in the Four Corners area
UNM KIVA club members distributed about 1,100 gallons of water and 100 cases of bottled water donations to Navajo Nation communities near the Four Corners area in an effort to ease the burden of an area affected by the Gold King Mine spill in August.
Residents near Shiprock, NM affected by the spill, a disaster releasing three million gallons of contaminated water into the Animas River, face the decision of keeping off their irrigation systems, which could lead to crop failure, or turning them on, resulting in possible crop contamination.
KIVA President Demetrius Johnson said the association collected water from several donors, exceeded their goal and needed at least four vehicles to haul the donations from Albuquerque to Shiprock on Sept. 5.
Cody Artis, the public relations officer for the KIVA club, said they distributed donations to five families in the Shiprock and Aneth, Utah communities. Both towns are located near the Four Corners area, along the San Juan River.
It was a life changing experience, meeting the community members in need of water, Artis said.
“We saw how greatly it impacted (the farmers),” he said about distributing the donations in Shiprock.
Artis said an old Navajo couple in Aneth showed their gratitude by feeding KIVA members frybread.
Although some New Mexico communities like Fruitland opened their irrigation systems, Johnson said Shiprock residents voted to keep their systems closed. Some residents think the water is safe and worry about their crops, but other farmers want to wait for further testing, he said. They plan on letting this season’s crops die rather than face possible contamination.
“It’s their livelihood, all they know is farming. It was really sad because I saw a lot of farmers cry,” Johnson said about the decision farmers made at a community meeting.
Although KIVA Vice President Melodie Meyer did not travel to the Four Corners area, she said the mine spill still affected her.
“When I first saw the effects of the Gold King Mine spill I was shocked ... on how orange it was,” Meyer said.
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She said the spill not only affects indigenous students at UNM but also indigenous people in the surrounding communities.
“It hasn’t really improved over the years. We’re still facing the effects of mining,” Meyer said. “It’s an issue that needs to be addressed no matter where you’re from.”
KIVA members said there is not enough coverage or awareness of the Gold King Mine spill. Meyer said the news media covered the beginning of the spill but later ignored it.
“The whole nation knew about it but you don’t see anything . . . being done,” Artis said. “The EPA says (the water’s) good ... but how good is it?”
Kerry Howe, director of the Center of Water and the Environment at UNM, who specializes in water quality and treatment, said constant monitoring and testing of water quality is the only solution at this time.
“There’s no real practical way to remediate (the spill),” Howe said.
Howe said the long-term impacts of the spill include big storms agitating and stirring up the settled contaminated particles at the bottom of the river. However, after these storms subside, the particles will settle at the bottom of the river again. Howe said drinking water goes through treatment plants but recreational and agricultural uses are possibly compromised.
Spreading more awareness of the Gold King Mine spill is one of KIVA’s future goals. Artis and Johnson interviewed and filmed donation recipients and chapter house officials for a planned documentary spreading awareness of the Gold King Mine spill and its effects.
Meyer said this issue transcends Native American student organizations and plans screening the finished documentary to other student organizations.
Mariano Spencer is a student in the Communication and Journalism Department.
