Residents surrendered to federal demands only after an EPA work-crew turned the nearby Animas River bright yellow for nearly a week by releasing a three-million-gallon flood of acidic mine waste under extremely questionable circumstances in August 2015.The Lincoln Award is not an honor, it's reserved for the government official or officials who has/have done the most harm to tribal Americans [what non-native people in the northeastern U.S. label as "Native Americans"].
Suspended in the flood was 880,000 pounds of toxic metals, including lead and arsenic, that poured into the river that supplies drinking water for people living in three states and the Navajo Nation. The mine is just upstream from Silverton.
I thought the "P" in EPA stood for "protection", as in "the government will protect you", rather than the organized crime meaning of the term. Although, say "the government will protect you" out loud and try not to laugh.
In regards to everything you thought you knew about "Honest Abe", remember that the victor in any conflict is the one who writes the history. The winner can create whatever historical narrative is most convenient to their sense of legacy.