The Aspen Institute says it’s time for Congress to clarify and enforce the rights of Indigenous people when it comes to mining
Cattle graze on a pasture while a wind turbine stands in the distance at the Reading Wind Facility in Reading, Kansas, on April 27. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
MARK TRAHANT
JUL 18, 2023
ICT
It's a familiar scene: Dozens of humming “giants” creating electricity out of the wind. The idea here is clean energy.
But this presents a problem for tribal communities. These giant windmills might look “white” … but they are really copper. One windmill represents some 4.7 tons of copper and another 700-pounds of rare earth minerals. In addition to those windmills, more copper is needed to build new electric lines because the ones we have now are not designed for clean energy transmission.
Last week the Aspen Institute released a report in Washington calling on Congress to adopt a strategic minerals policy. This is important because the mining industry, and governments, have to sell the idea this time it’s different. This time the industry will respect cultural and religious sites. This time the industry will clean up its own mess. And this time it will reward tribal communities as owners instead of serving up resources as colonies.
Why would anyone believe that?
“The question is how likely is it that we can hit a reset button, especially with the Indigenous populations because the history is not good. The history from the very beginning, beginning with colonization and leading to exploitation," says former North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp. "No one had any interest in the Black Hills until they found gold and literally violated the Laramie Treaty. And you know, people don't wanna hear that, but that's the truth. And so what, what about today would tell anyone that it was gonna be different?”
The Aspen Institute says it’s time for Congress to clarify and enforce the rights of Indigenous people when it comes to mining.
“The Task Force recommends clarifying that Free, Prior, and Informed Consent—in the sense of consent being a requirement for progress — applies to Tribal Nations directly impacted by critical mineral development; best efforts to achieve consent should also be sought from Tribal Nations which can only claim to be affected indirectly by such development. In both cases, consultations are essential.”
A second recommendation calls for Congress to fund technical and financial resources for tribes to evaluate and consider mining projects, including ownership. The First Nations Major Projects Coalition is a model. Aspen sites the 27 nations that have joined together to access capital and technical expertise, north of the medicine line.
The goal would be for tribal nations to be full partners, even owners, giving them a seat at the table for making decisions about what is developed.
Further reading:
-- This time it's different; the rush to mine Indigenous lands
JUL 18, 2023
ICT
It's a familiar scene: Dozens of humming “giants” creating electricity out of the wind. The idea here is clean energy.
But this presents a problem for tribal communities. These giant windmills might look “white” … but they are really copper. One windmill represents some 4.7 tons of copper and another 700-pounds of rare earth minerals. In addition to those windmills, more copper is needed to build new electric lines because the ones we have now are not designed for clean energy transmission.
Last week the Aspen Institute released a report in Washington calling on Congress to adopt a strategic minerals policy. This is important because the mining industry, and governments, have to sell the idea this time it’s different. This time the industry will respect cultural and religious sites. This time the industry will clean up its own mess. And this time it will reward tribal communities as owners instead of serving up resources as colonies.
Why would anyone believe that?
“The question is how likely is it that we can hit a reset button, especially with the Indigenous populations because the history is not good. The history from the very beginning, beginning with colonization and leading to exploitation," says former North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp. "No one had any interest in the Black Hills until they found gold and literally violated the Laramie Treaty. And you know, people don't wanna hear that, but that's the truth. And so what, what about today would tell anyone that it was gonna be different?”
The Aspen Institute says it’s time for Congress to clarify and enforce the rights of Indigenous people when it comes to mining.
“The Task Force recommends clarifying that Free, Prior, and Informed Consent—in the sense of consent being a requirement for progress — applies to Tribal Nations directly impacted by critical mineral development; best efforts to achieve consent should also be sought from Tribal Nations which can only claim to be affected indirectly by such development. In both cases, consultations are essential.”
A second recommendation calls for Congress to fund technical and financial resources for tribes to evaluate and consider mining projects, including ownership. The First Nations Major Projects Coalition is a model. Aspen sites the 27 nations that have joined together to access capital and technical expertise, north of the medicine line.
The goal would be for tribal nations to be full partners, even owners, giving them a seat at the table for making decisions about what is developed.
Further reading:
-- This time it's different; the rush to mine Indigenous lands
-- Powering Indigenous energy (fast & fair)
Colette Brown-Rodriquez, Confederated Tribes of Salish Kootenai, has a background in mining and finance. She serves on the board of directors for Apollo Silver. She says mining decisions are incredibly complex – and tribal nations need more experts to be better informed.
“They're bringing those experts to First Nations and helping them review and really be a part of the project …
“And we're trying to bring this very complex, whether it's renewable energy or mining projects,” she said, But the tribes “don’t have engineers. They don't have a hydrologist. They don't have the specialized people to really give them good feedback. So then, what ends up happening in the mining space is that we tend to hit the easy button.”
“It's all supply chain economics. And that's kind of why I went back to get my MBA. Because I love mining, and I love renewable energy, but I wanted to understand how the world works with all these different commodities."
She suggests we think about a grocery store.
"I'm hoping that those of us, especially in the renewable energy space, are going to become more willing to look at the reality of the need for critical minerals. And how can we? I'll start working together to make make things I think a little bit more.
… and I think it's kind of like the disconnect from nature, so as Indigenous people, you know you knew where a lot of your stuff came from. Right, your food, your clothing, and you. That's why you, you know, prayed for the buffalo, or prayed for the deer because you were taking something.
But in our society now, we go to Walmart, our beef and plastic. You don't even think about all the environmental impacts it took to get that be fractured at Walmart. Same thing with our clothes, everything around us. We're just so up to all about convenience. It's not about, 'what are our decisions making long term? And for the things around us and I,' and same thing with minerals …"
The White House has put a number on the minerals we will need for an energy transition.
“As the world transitions to a clean energy economy, global demand for these critical minerals is set to skyrocket by 400-600 percent over the next several decades, and, for minerals such as lithium and graphite used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries, demand will increase by even more—as much as 4,000 percent.”
And about a third of those minerals are located on or near tribal nations.
Mark Trahant, Shoshone-Bannock, is editor-at-large for Indian Country Today. Trahant is based in Phoenix. The Indigenous Economics Project is funded with a major grant from the Bay and Paul Foundations.
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