(Navajo man drawing pistol on uranium prospector)

Unidentified

No information is found on the artist of this piece, initialed "WEH" in lower left, which appears to be of a Navajo tribesman holding a pistol in one hand and leading a Paint Horse by the other, approaching a uranium miner. The style is reminiscent of the work that came from the Santa Fe Indian School in the early 20th century, but with a distinctly contemporary element: the Geiger counter at the miner's feet.

In the 1950s the West saw a rush in uranium mining by private companies and the United States Atomic Energy Commission, with little to no oversight with regards to worker health or appropriate clean-up meaure. To this day, families on the Navajo reservation and elsewhere struggle with the often lethal side effects of radiation poisoning, and to obtain compansation for the various health problems put upon generations of tribespeople. Artists from these regions have at time addressed this environmental disaster through paintings, scupltures, music, theater, and more.

A note that came with image reads: "Robert's favorite of Indian drawing gun on prospector taking uranium"

"Robert" refers to Robert Allen, son of Joseph Allen who headed the San Francisco WPA Project thin the 1930s.