THACKER PASS AND THE UGLY TRADITION OF EXTRACTION WITHOUT INDIGENOUS PERMISSION
By Tokata Iron Eyes
Peehee mu'huh (or #ThackerPass, as it’s known in English), a sensitive wilderness area located in what is now called #HumboldtCounty, #Nevada, sits on the ancestral homelands of the #Paiute and #Shoshone peoples. Right now, these lands are threatened by a #lithium mining project being developed by a company called #LithiumNevada, a subsidiary of #LithiumAmericasCorp .
1/20
#ThackerPass is significant for several reasons.
Once operational, the Thacker Pass mine would become one of the largest lithium operations on #TurtleIsland, potentially providing up to 25 percent of worldwide demand for a mineral expected to power the global transition to cleaner energy. But the mine’s approval was fast-tracked over the protest of nearby #IndigenousCommunities.
2/20
Decarbonization policies are being stymied by political conflict. Local communities might oppose decarbonization infrastructure such as solar farms, mines, or transmission lines if they view these projects as imposing high costs on them in relation to their benefits. To decarbonize, the automobile industry seeks to shift from the internal combustion engine to electric vehicles, which require lithium-based rechargeable batteries. In the United States, to meet the increasing lithium demand through domestic sources, there is a proposal for a lithium mine in Thacker Pass, Nevada, which faces strong opposition from native nations and environmental groups. Using a representative sample of Nevada residents (n = 1,368), we explore if proximity to the Thacker Pass mine and to any Nevada mine influence public support for the proposed lithium mine. In addition, we test three frames that emphasize different benefits of the proposed mine: climate policy, national security, and local economic development. We find that respondents living closer to the Thacker Pass mine tend to be more supportive of the proposed lithium mine but exposure to existing Nevada mines does not affect public support. Among the treatment frames, only the national security frame increases public support. This suggests that to navigate local public opposition, the national security—domestic sourcing of key inputs required for decarbonization, aspect of decarbonization projects should be highlighted.
It also impinges on #CeremonialGrounds, the site of two #HistoricMassacres , and the home of several #ProtectedSpecies . As I’ll detail below, it also continues a long history of mining unwanted by #FrontlineNativeCommunities , for example in the #HeSapa — the #BlackHills sacred to the #Lakota people.
As my colleague, Lakota elder #PhyllisYoung, recently wrote in an email to our organization’s supporters, we now stand at a crossroads.
3/20
“As we replace #FossilFuels with #RenewableEnergy , we have a big question to answer: will we show respect for #IndigenousNations by honoring their authority to determine what happens to their #SacredLands , or will we permit the same tactics the #FossilFuelIndustry has employed for generations to sully our transition to lithium-based green technology?”
— Lakota Law #StandingRock Organizer Phyllis Young
4/20
As we continue to create and imagine solutions to the ongoing #ClimateCrisis, we must ensure that extractive #industry isn’t allowed to continue harming #Indigenous and #FrontlineCommunities in that process. Native territories have always been seen by #colonists and #capitalists as expendable virgin lands, there for the taking and exploiting. But recognize that the remaining undisrupted, undisturbed #ecosystems
5/20
With the climate crisis in full swing, protecting ecosystems that stabilize the climate like tropical forests is more urgent than ever. Forests naturally store massive amounts of carbon in the...
which make up 80 % of the globe’s #biodiversity are cared for and protected by #IndigenousPeoples.
The #ThackerPass #mining project, located within an area known for its rich lithium deposits, aims to extract this valuable metal used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, smartphones, laptops, and renewable energy storage systems. The project plans to use an open-pit mining method to extract lithium-bearing clay resources, using unholy amounts of #water.
6/20
https://www.protectthackerpass.org/lithium-mining-mountains-of-water/
Since its inception, the project has faced opposition from environmental and Indigenous groups. These concerns relate mainly to #water usage, potential impact on local #ecosystems, and the preservation of #CulturalSites. At the very heart of the Thacker Pass issue is the safety and protection of this place as a #SacredSite, a resting place of #Paiute and #Shoshone #ancestors who were #massacred.
7/20
In the time since I visited Peeheemu’huh a few months back with my father, #LakotaLaw co-director and lead counsel #ChaseIronEyes, police have made several arrests related to activism resisting the mine. The #OxSamCamp, named after one of the few to survive the 1865 massacre, is an Indigenous-led prayer camp, which serves as the base camp for the #resistance.
8/20
#Paiute and #Shoshone #elders have asked for supporters from far and wide to come take part in an ongoing #ceremony of protection for those #waters and #lands.
Our #NativeVoices just haven’t been heard, and that’s a big problem. The project has undergone several stages of permitting and regulatory processes before it can begin full-scale mining operations. These processes are essential to addressing environmental and societal impacts and complying with local regulations.
9/20
However, according to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Paiute and Shoshone people are entitled to Free, Prior and Informed Consent ( #FPIC ) before their homelands are potentially desecrated. This right has been neither acknowledged nor respected by #LithiumAmerica nor the #USGovernment.
10/20
Let’s explore what that means. Free, Prior, and Informed Consent ( #FPIC ) is a specific right granted to #IndigenousPeoples recognized in the #UnitedNationsDeclarationOnTheRightsOfIndigenousPeoples , aligning with our universal right to self-determination. FPIC allows Indigenous peoples to provide, withhold, or withdraw #consent, at any point, regarding projects impacting our #territories, and it provides us the opportunity to engage in negotiations
11/20
that shape the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of projects.
Of course, the U.N. has good reason to make its declaration. The story of #IndigenousOpposition to #extraction isn’t new, and the #Lakota people are no strangers to extractive industry looking to exploit our homelands. From the protests against the Dakota Access pipeline ( #DAPL ) at #StandingRock to mining in the #BlackHills , these violent practices have a storied #history.
12/20
The #BlackHills Gold Rush of the late 19th century was a major event that attracted prospectors and #settlers from all over the country.
In 1874, General George Armstrong #Custer led an expedition consisting of 1,000 soldiers of the seventh cavalry, 110 wagons, 70 Indian scouts, four reporters, and two gold miners to the Black Hills. This led to the discovery of gold — particularly at present-day #Custer and #Deadwood, in the heart of #Lakota territory.
13/20
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/custer-timeline/
This last fact mattered little to Custer or any other non-Natives. The influx of settlers trespassing in search of gold quickly led to the #GreatSiouxWar of 1876 — and eventually, happily, to Custer's death at #TheBattleOfGreasyGrass (or #LittleBighorn , as it’s known in settler parlance).
One of the most famous and productive gold mines in the Black Hills was the #HomestakeMine , located near the town of #Lead.
14/20
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestake_Mine_(South_Dakota)
It was one of the deepest and largest #GoldMines in #NorthAmerica, and it operated for over a century, from 1876 to 2002. The #HomestakeMine produced over 40 million ounces of #gold during its lifetime. While gold was the primary focus of early mining in the #BlackHills, other #minerals were also extracted from the region over time, including silver, copper, lead, zinc, tin, mica, and various #gemstones.
As the most accessible and easily extracted deposits were depleted,
15/20
many mines in the Black Hills faced declining production and eventually closed.
But #MiningOperations continue to this day, particularly in areas where modern exploration techniques have revealed new #reserves or where mining methods have become more efficient. Mining in the #BlackHills has had significant environmental impacts, including #deforestation, #SoilErosion, and #WaterPollution, resulting in #conflicts with #NativePeoples who consider the Black Hills to be a sacred site.
16/20
At #LakotaLaw, we work in solidarity with groups like the #BlackHillsCleanWaterAlliance to stop this pattern of #destruction.
The Lakota believe the Black Hills to be our place of #origin on this earthly plane. Lakota cosmology points to an actual physical place in the He Sapa called #WindCave, where we emerged. Today, this sacred site has been commodified and turned into a tourist attraction, limiting our access for ceremonial use.
17/20
https://www.nps.gov/wica/learn/historyculture/the-lakota-emergence-story.htm
#Mining history has become an essential part of the Black Hills #tourism industry. Many old mining towns have been preserved and transformed into additional tourist attractions, offering visitors a glimpse into the region's "rich mining past.” Places like #Deadwood and #Lead have become popular destinations for tourists interested in the #WildWest era and mining history.
18/20
But #mining is not a thing of the past. Present day efforts often focus on other valuable #minerals in the #BlackHills region, such as #uranium and rare earth elements essential for various modern technologies — #lithium included. It’s all connected, and it’s hardly an overstatement to say that anywhere you look, extractive industry encroaches on Indigenous homelands. That must change going forward.
19/20
https://bhcleanwateralliance.org/know-the-issue/lithium-rush/
If we’re to shift the trajectory of the #ClimateCrisis and create a better future for the coming generations, we must listen to the age-old wisdom of Indigenous peoples who understand how to live in balance with the #UnciMaka, our #GrandmotherEarth.
Thank you for reading, and please take action to stop mining at #ThackerPass and in the #BlackHills.
20/20
The same is happening now in Mogollon, an area sacred to the Apache and an important watershed to Gila and the small communities down stream. This is just beginning. They will be running huge trucks up a hairpin turning road along a steep cliff drop with no guardrails endangering everyone on that road.
If anyone is interested in a new fight against mining in the Gila of New Mexico, see Gilaguardians.org
The Chiricahua Apache are also in this fight against this Canadian mining company. The bands of Apache in the Gila were able to evade the US army by dispersing into wilderness of Gila, never being rounded up & put on a Rez, thus not being a Federally recognized tribe. They still live in Gila & this will destroy their lives as well as small communities.
anna_lillith 🇺🇦🌱🐖
NoctisEqui 🇺🇦🇵🇸🇪🇹🏳️🌈