Jessica Lee recently published an article titled "The Democrats' Dirty Secret: Presidential Candidates Backed by Nuclear Powerhouses" that explores how the two Democratic Party frontrunners--Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama--have close ties to the nuclear industry. Lee writes:

"The nuclear industry has helped bankroll the presidential campaigns of both Senators Obama and Clinton. Executives and employees of the Illinois-based Exelon have given Obama at least $221,517 -- making Exelon Obama's eighth largest contributor. Obama's chief political strategist, David Axelrod, has also served as a consultant to Exelon.

NRG Energy is betting on Clinton. In September, NRG filed an application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to open the first U.S. nuclear plan in more than 30 years. NRG Energy has given Clinton nearly $80,000 in campaign contributions. The company's president and CEO, David Crane, is a "Hillraiser" -- a Clinton backer who has raised at least $100,000. NRG Energy has also given $175 million to The Clinton Global Initiative run by former President Bill Clinton."

While Clinton and Obama have talked up the possibility of using nuclear power to combat global warming, they have not addressed the tragic legacy of nuclear power in the United States. Lee explains that nuclear power--particularly via uranium mining--has had profound impacts on Native Americans:

"Left unsaid on the campaign trail is the tragic fallout. Uranium exploration and mining, nuclear testing and radioactive waste dumping began more than 60 years ago, largely on lands that Southwestern Native Americans were forced onto generations earlier. Not only did Native communities receive little in the way of royalties for the uranium extracted from their lands, health and safety precautions were essentially non-existent.

As with people in South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana, Dine and Hopi communities in the Four Corner region (Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico) have suffered greatly from environmental contamination and widespread illness. These areas were deemed "National Sacrifice Areas" by the U.S. government -- lands determined "uninhabitable" due to the planned depletion of water resources by industry and widespread radioactive contamination.

For the Native communities who are all too familiar with the dangerous consequences of being the nation that possesses thousands of nuclear weapons and relies on nearly 20 percent of its power from nuclear generation, this is a cry for environmental justice. And the Democratic leadership does not seem to care.

"Not one of the presidential candidates has an energy policy that excludes exploitation of indigenous lands," said Klee Benally, founder of Indigenous Action Media and a volunteer with the Save the Peaks Coalition.

Ghosthorse agrees. "Hillary and Obama are not going to do anything about this. It is not who we elect, it is the system." While the presidential primaries continue to hypnotize the nation, the Native American resistance walks on."

Former Senator Mike Gravel--who still is in the Democratic presidential race--has historically opposed the use of nuclear power and is currently opposed to nuclear power. In an August 2007 interview Gravel said that he does not believe nuclear power has a role in the United States' energy future.