Fronteras: Arizona tribes fight uranium mine by Grand Canyon

Mining companies have recently tried a new strategy — going after ore deposits on state land. Clark explained the high desert we were flying over is a checkerboard of federal, private, tribal and state land. A proposed mine site called the Wate Mine sits on state land completely surrounded by the area off-limits to mining.

The site is eight miles from the nearest spring that flows into Havasu Creek and its picturesque waterfalls. Havasupai Chairman Don Watahomigie has been battling the mining companies in court for many years. He’s concerned about the potential for drinking water contamination.

"Water, rain, snowmelt up on top of the rim flows into our creek down here," Watahomigie said. "We have a lot of drainages. Anything that’s up there flows down here."

But the mining company faces another obstacle. The site is surrounded by a ranch that’s owned by the Navajo Nation. The tribe has said it would not allow the company to transport uranium across its land, because the industry has caused the Navajo people so much suffering. The federal government is still cleaning up mines on the reservation.