A nuclear site is on tribes’ ancestral lands. Their voices are being left out on key cleanup talks

By HALLIE GOLDEN
Associated Press

Three Native American tribes have devoted decades to returning their ancestral land in Washington to the days before they became the most radioactively contaminated site in the nation’s nuclear weapons complex. But the Yakama Nation, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and Nez Perce Tribe have been left out of negotiations on a major decision affecting the future cleanup of millions of gallons of radioactive waste stored in underground tanks on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. In May, federal and state agencies reached an agreement that hasn’t been released publicly. As they privately draft their proposed changes, the tribes are bracing for a decision that could threaten their fundamental vision for the site.