#ThackerPass #protesters seek dismissal of lawsuit by #LithiumNevada on #freespeech grounds
By: Bob Conrad, August 23, 2023
"The Thacker Pass protesters who were hit with a lawsuit filed by Lithium Nevada are seeking to get the case dismissed. The defendants last week filed a motion to dismiss the case claiming they were exercising their right to free speech.
"Lithium Nevada, which is building the Thacker Pass lithium mine, sued the protesters in late June.
"The company said activists and members of the Fort McDermitt Paiute #Shoshone Tribe have attempted to block construction at the mine site.
"'Despite multiple warnings from law enforcement not to block public roads, Defendants have continued to do so,' the lawsuit alleges. 'Indeed, Defendants have proudly broadcasted their defiance of law enforcement on social media.
"The defendants disagreed with Lithium Nevada’s claims.
"'The Defendants opted to exercise their constitutional rights and went to the Mine site to pray for their ancestors as #LNC destroyed those ancestors’ final resting places, destroyed culturally significant lands formerly used for subsistence and self-preservation,' they wrote in their motion. 'It is appropriate to analyze whether LNC has established the elements of its claims for relief within the limitations imposed by the First Amendment.'
"They also disputed LNC’s claims of violence and vandalism.
"'As a #sacred site is being bulldozed, non-violent protesters are being criminalized by a foreign mining company,' said attorney Terry Lodge, representing the defendants. 'My clients were engaged in #protest that is clearly protected by the U.S. Constitution. This is #corporate greed and bullying.'"
https://thisisreno.com/2023/08/thacker-pass-protesters-seek-dismissal-of-lawsuit-by-lithium-nevada-on-free-speech-grounds/
#CorporateGreen #ProtectThackerPass #CulturalGenocide #EnvironmentalRacism #protesters #Pauite
#ThackerPass #protesters #lithiumnevada #freespeech #shoshone #lnc #sacred #protest #corporate #corporategreen #ProtectThackerPass #culturalgenocide #environmentalracism #pauite
‘Lithium mine bulk sampling’ actually means cultural genocide
September 20, 2022
"Lithium Nevada Corporation (#LNC), the company behind the embattled #ThackerPass lithium mine project, has begun digging up portions of Thacker Pass for 'bulk sampling' despite consultation still being ongoing between the Bureau of Land Management and regional tribes over #cultural sites.
"Will Falk, attorney for the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony and the Summit Lake #Paiute Tribe and co-founder of the opposition group #ProtectThackerPass, says this is a violation of federal law.
"'The Federal Government has not even meaningfully started consultation with tribes about the September 12, 1865 massacre site in Thacker Pass, let alone the earlier Peehee Mu’huh massacre described in oral history and the entire Thacker Pass Traditional Cultural District,' Falk said. 'But that doesn’t even begin to describe how much of a dirty trick this is. BLM is allowing the destruction of a massacre site without consulting, over the objections of multiple tribes and members of the public, using a permit more than a decade old.'
"'Thacker Pass is a living traditional cultural place where Paiute and #Shoshone people still gather to practice our culture,' says Michon Eben, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. 'The Snake War was the most violent Indian war in the west, and not a single site from this important event for our people is protected. BLM and Lithium Nevada are destroying our cultural heritage with this dig.”"
#CulturalGenocide #NativeAmericans #Lithium #LithiumMining #Nevada #LandBack
Read more:
https://wholecommunity.news/2022/09/26/lithium-mine-bulk-sampling-actually-means-cultural-genocide/
#lnc #ThackerPass #cultural #paiute #ProtectThackerPass #shoshone #culturalgenocide #nativeamericans #lithium #lithiummining #nevada #landback