More than 900 abandoned uranium mines litter the Navajo Nation, the poisonous legacy of the mid- to late-twentieth century uranium boom in the American West. This article discusses findings from recent archaeological work related to reclamation activities at a series of abandoned uranium mines in the Cove and Monument Valley regions of northeastern Arizona. The projects sought to identify archaeological resources within the mine boundaries and gather ethnographic information regarding past mining activities at these sites. The results of this ethnoarchaeological work provide insight into the daily activities and family life of Navajo uranium mine workers, as well as historic data useful for Navajo Nation land managers planning remediation activities at the abandoned mine sites. The article concludes with a series of reflections about the nature of conducting archaeological work at uranium industry sites that might be of interest to others engaged in similar work.

超过 900 座废弃的铀矿散落在纳瓦霍民族，这是 20 世纪中后期美国西部铀繁荣的有毒遗产。本文讨论了最近在亚利桑那州东北部海湾和纪念碑谷地区的一系列废弃铀矿进行的与开垦活动相关的考古工作的发现。这些项目旨在确定矿山边界内的考古资源，并收集有关这些地点过去采矿活动的人种学信息。这项民族考古工作的结果提供了对纳瓦霍铀矿工人日常活动和家庭生活的洞察，以及对规划废弃矿场修复活动的纳瓦霍族土地管理者有用的历史数据。