Chapter 2
Long before New Mexico became part of the United States, the region was home to Indigenous nations including the Pueblo peoples, Apache, and Navajo (Diné). Spanish colonization began in the 1500s, bringing the conquest of Indigenous lands, forced labor, religious conversion, and new systems of political control. Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, and New Mexico became part of Mexico before the United States acquired the territory following the La invasión estadounidense (the U.S. invasion) and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. This history is important because the land where the United States later conducted nuclear weapons research and testing had already been shaped by centuries of Indigenous presence, colonization, and displacement.
July 1945: the US military tested the first nuclear bomb at White Sands, New Mexico, spreading radioactive fallout that polluted soil and water. The harms and effects on people were hidden for decades. Hispanic cancer survivor Tina Cordova has led a movement pushing for justice and health care for New Mexico residents still neglected by the government.
The Trinity Test demonstrates how environmental injustice can be connected to colonialism, race, class, and political power. Communities that had little influence over federal decisions were exposed to the environmental consequences of a project carried out in the name of national security. The history of New Mexico reminds us that environmental justice is also about who controls land, who makes decisions, who bears the risks, and whose voices are heard.
How did nuclear testing affect Indigenous communities in New Mexico?Indigenous communities lived in and around the region where nuclear research and testing took place. The Trinity Test exposed surrounding areas to radioactive fallout, raising concerns about impacts on Indigenous people, their health, land, water, livestock, and traditional ways of life.
How does this connect to the history of colonization?Indigenous communities in New Mexico had already experienced centuries of Spanish, Mexican, and U.S. expansion, displacement, and attempts to control their land. Nuclear testing continued a broader pattern in which powerful governments made decisions about Indigenous lands without meaningful participation from the people living there.
Why were Indigenous communities vulnerable to environmental harm?Political and economic inequalities can make it harder for communities to challenge government and military decisions. Indigenous communities have historically faced limited political power while government agencies have controlled or used large areas of their ancestral lands.