Photos by April Alonso

By Ankur Singh

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On Friday, June 5, 2019, a small group of students from Dine College on the Navajo Nation visited Cicero to participate in an environmental justice tour by Ixchel, a local organization that advocates for racial equity in education and environmental justice.

The students were in Chicago for an environmental science mentorship program with an agency of the Center for Disease Control. This summer they have done similar tours in Little Village, Southeast side Chicago, and East Chicago, Indiana.

Ixchel founder Delia Barajas lead the tour, which drove around various facilities in Cicero that emit pollutants and other toxins. For years Barajas has collected and analyzed reports by the Environmental Protection Agency and other organizations.

“I'm not an environmentalist,” said Barajas. “I don’t have a health degree or anything...I live here. So it's my responsibility to be invested in this community.”

Together the group visited areas such as the wastewater treatment plant, the BNSF rail yard, and a variety of smaller factories. They discussed the impact these facilities have on the environment and health.

After the tour the students shared what they witness in their own communities on the Navajo Nation.

“In Arizona there's a lot of mines that have still not been discovered and they are slowly trying to clean up the sites. They're starting on some. A lot of residents around that area have been living with it all their lives,” one student shared.