Congress Screws Native Americans With Fine Print

Somehow U.S. lawmakers have used a defense spending bill to sell Native American burial ground to mining giant Rio Tinto. Yay, capitalism!

But seriously, here’s what happened: The Senate on Friday passed a defense spending bill. Like a Christmas tree dressed with ornaments, lawmakers attached a host of riders and provisions to the bill, including number of land swaps. One such swap sees the transfer of Arizona forest land considered sacred by multiple native tribes, the Apache in particular, to Rio Tinto. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because the mining concern is very unpopular with environmentalists, labor organizers, human rights activists and the government of Norway.

Rio Tinto plans to build a mine. According to The Huffington Post, native leaders are concerned about disturbing ceremonial and burial sites.

— Posted by Peter Z. Scheer