The Power of the Surging Indigenous Protest with Lithium Excavation Delayed

In the wake of the #BlackLivesMatter protest movement of 2020, we are also seeing more and more attention paid to Indigenous-led matters and protests, which is extremely gratifying. In Reno, Nevada, where I live, more and more people it seems are echoing what local Indigenous thought leaders are saying, which is about time. We are seeing more and more young Indigenous leaders taking a stand. It's been a slow, long and steady movement with twists and turns but it seems there is a current upswing, and interest from society at large to hear more of their voices, incorporate their wisdom and receive some of their guidance. I had the privilege of taking a few photos and witnessing an anti-mining protest last night in Reno, concerning now delayed lithium excavation plans at Thacker Pass, also known as Peehee mu’huh.

It's a fast moving story, as this was reported by Reuters just yesterday as the protest was taking place. "Lithium Americas (LAC -0.9%) has delayed plans to excavate its Thacker Pass lithium mine site in Nevada, Reuters reports, citing court documents. The delay comes as a federal judge considers whether the Trump administration incorrectly approved the project - less than a week before Trump left office - that opponents say could threaten sage grouse habitats. If the judge grants a request by opponents for an injunction, Lithium Americas would not be able to develop the site during a review of whether the Trump administration should have approved the mine. Thacker Pass would be the largest U.S. lithium mine, producing 30K metric tons/year of lithium."

This was posted in the Sierra Nevada Ally by People of Red Mountain: "In addition to environmental concerns, Thacker Pass is sacred to our people. Thacker Pass is a spiritually powerful place blessed by the presence of our ancestors, other spirits, and golden eagles – who we consider to be directly connected to the Creator. Some of our ancestors were massacred in Thacker Pass. The name for Thacker pass in our language is Peehee mu’huh, which in English, translates to “rotten moon.” Pee-hee means “rotten” and mm-huh means “moon.” Peehee mu’huh was named so because our ancestors were massacred there while our hunters were away. When the hunters returned, they found their loved ones murdered, unburied, rotting, and with their entrails spread across the sage brush in a part of the Pass shaped like a moon. To build a lithium mine over this massacre site in Peehee mu’huh would be like building a lithium mine over Pearl Harbor or Arlington National Cemetery. We would never desecrate these places and we ask that our sacred sites be afforded the same respect."