Indigenous communities continue to lead in some of our most crucial environmental fights

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – Contamination from lead, arsenic and the other toxins in Tar Creek in northeastern Oklahoma stole the potential of many children of the Quapaw Nation. As a parent, I can only imagine the anguish and the anger. As a lifelong activist for civil and human rights and the environment, I deeply admire the resilience of the Quapaw and the many Indigenous communities with similar stories.The Tar Creek Superfund site is the first such site to have its clean-up efforts led by an Indigenous tribe. It sits in what was once the Tri-State Mining District, which supplied the lead and zinc for more than 75% of the American bullets and shells used in World Wars I and II.Related Stories Although all mining had been abandoned by the early 1970s, hundreds of mines and boreholes were left open. When water filled the holes, it brought toxic heavy metals to the surface. That contaminated the creek, killed wildlife, and sickened the people who had once known the creek as a source of water and a gathering place. In 1979, the creek turned bright orange from the iron in the acid mine water reaching the surface. It was a major sign of the...