Course blends chemistry, American Indian studies

As students look through the timetable for the upcoming semester, they’ll see one course in chemistry that meets the ethnic studies requirement.

It’s not a mistake.

The new course, “Environmental Chemistry and Ethnicity” (Chem. 201), examines the chemistry of the element uranium in the context of the American Indians who mined it 50 years ago and who continue to suffer from its effects.

“This is the first chemistry course at UW–Madison to meet the ethnic studies requirements,” says Catherine Middlecamp, a distinguished faculty associate and director of the Chemistry Learning Center.

The course, for which an introductory chemistry course is a prerequisite, evolved from a conversation about 10 years ago between Middlecamp and her longtime friend, Omie Baldwin, a University Health Services counselor and a member of the Navajo Nation.

“Cathy has always been interested in teaching chemistry in real-world contexts,” says Baldwin. “And one day, she asked me if I had any ideas. I told her about this book, “If You Poison Us: Uranium and Native Americans.'” The book, which tells the history of uranium mining on the Navajo Reservation in the Southwest, is now a textbook for the new course.

The relationship between uranium and American Indians began during World War II, when U.S. scientists were developing the atomic bombs that would be dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Scientists needed U-235, an isotope that could release large amounts of energy when its nucleus was split. Because the isotope can be found in uranium, the U.S. government commissioned mining companies to excavate American Indian land replete with uranium.

Nearly one-fourth of the miners hired were Navajo, and they were exposed to contaminants throughout the work day. After WWII, when the strong need for uranium had ended, many of the mining companies pulled out, leaving behind nearly 1,000 open-pit mines leaking deadly gases and radioactive dust.

At the time, says Baldwin, the American Indians working in the mines and living on the land were unaware of radiation — the deadly consequence of uranium and radon. “Education often doesn’t reach the people who need to know the most,” she says.

But, as years passed and more cases of lung cancer appeared on the reservation, the American Indians began to realize the dangers. Since the 1960s, they have been battling the government to clean up the mines and to compensate for their losses.

In a nutshell, this is the story the new course will tell, and it contains two threads that weave together inextricably.

“It’s about both radioactivity and the Navajo people,” says Middlecamp, adding, “This is not a story about only the past. It connects to the present and even the future, with more chapters to be written.”

The class, capped at 20 students, will be team-taught by Baldwin and Middlecamp. The students will learn about radioactive decay, the health effects of radiation, and the history and struggles of the Navajo people. They will hear from speakers, and, at the end, they will give presentations on the topic of their choosing.

“From the course, the students will see that chemistry is connected to people and societies in ways they perhaps never imagined,” Middlecamp says.

Because the course brings together the chemistry of uranium and the culture of American Indians, both instructors say the greatest challenge in designing the course has been integrating the two topics. “Developing a new course is hard work,” says Middlecamp. “And figuring out how to thoroughly blend chemistry and culture into one class is even harder.”

For this reason, Middlecamp and Baldwin say the new course would not be possible without the expertise of both instructors. “This is the true meaning of being interdisciplinary,” says Middlecamp.

Sources of support include the UW System Institute for Race and Ethnicity, the chemistry department, University Health Services and Plan 2008.