By Lila Goleman, Environmental Science Major, Mentor Taylor Busch.
Taylor Busch is a civil engineering master’s student who is currently conducting lab research using mycorrhizal fungi to biologically remediate toxic metals, like arsenic, that are left over from mining legacies, such as the Jackpile Mine on Laguna Pueblo, NM. It was a uranium mine run from 1953 to 1982, primarily for the element’s use in nuclear weapons. The legacies of dangerous radioactivity and toxic waste still exist and pose tremendous health risks for the nearby Laguna Pueblo people. For my communication project I wanted to create a piece of music that lyrically and poetically reflects the deep social, political and environmental issues faced by native people whose livelihoods are affected by sites like the Jackpile Mine, using inspiration from Taylor’s research. In my (bedroom) music studio, I used an electronic sound device to harness the noises translated from the electric currents of a living fungi solution to create synthesizer sounds which I used in the background of my audio piece. Overlain by beautiful guitar and vocals, I wrote and recorded a song called “Laguna”, which tells the story of a young girl called Little Girl Bird who is dealing with the social and environmental catastrophe brought on by mine waste. The lyrics recall the element uranium, Mount Taylor, resilience, the desert, and the maternal essence of the Earth. Music is an ancient medium that speaks a universal language, crossing all boundaries while uniting and connecting people. I hope that my project brings light to the vast and important interdepartmental research going on about Laguna Pueblo for the benefit of the people and the environment.
Laguna
Little Girl Bird
Why are you crying
Down from the mountain
The miners stopped mining
U have a daughter
Unafraid she remains
Colonize your hyphae in the pit of the mine
The metalloid serpent has no diamond knife
Here lies a secret as old as the Earth
You’ll find them singing in the sweet ugly dirt
Little Girl Bird
Where is your mother
Someone to hold you out in the desert
Nothing is over
It’s only begun