Dorothy Purley: The True Warrior

Dorothy Purley was one of the driving forces behind efforts to secure government compensation for uranium mine workers. She lobbied tirelessly to amend the 1990 Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. Dorothy was born and raised in the pueblo of Laguna, about 52 miles west of Albuquerque. The area is the site of the world's largest open-pit uranium mine once operated by Anaconda Mining.

For eight years, Dorothy worked in the open-pit mine, hauling high-grade uranium ore to the mill site. In 1993, she contracted lymphoma. For another eight long years, Dorothy struggled with her ailment while working endlessly to promote the education of Native American tribes and others about the hazards of radiation contamination. She traveled worldwide in her attempts to help people become aware of the problems of continued mining and the use of nuclear materials. Dorothy spoke in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, at gatherings commemorating the 50th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb. She often considered herself a hibakusha, a victim of atomic bombing.

On September 26, 1999, Dorothy received the Nuclear-Free Future Award in the category of Resistance. This annual award presentation goes to heroes of the Nuclear Age. The award winners are symbolic of thousands around the world who understand reality as what they, themselves, make of it.

Dorothy worked closely with organizations such as Citizens for Alternatives to Radioactive Dumping (CARD), Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), Southwest Network for Environmental Justice, (SNEJ), Water Information Network (WIN), and was a founding member of the Laguna Acoma Coalition for a Safe Environment. Her efforts helped pass a bill in Congress, which will enable some miners to receive aid as a result of exposure to radiation due to working in open-pit mines.

Dorothy was a mother, grandmother and friend to all who knew her. Her compassion and love was unyielding. She was a true warrior in native tradition, our Earth Mother.