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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Tipi Erected At Thacker Pass - Law Enforcement Issues Final Warning <br></h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Ken Cosentino - May 12, 2023<br></div>
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<p>PEEHEE MU’HUH, NEVADA - On Thursday, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s
department issued a final warning to Indigenous land defenders at <a href="https://lastrealindians.com/news/thackerpass42023" target="_blank" tabindex="0">Thacker Pass</a>.
Members of law enforcement are demanding that the land defenders vacate
a service road leading into the lithium mining operation. The
Indigenous land defenders have erected a tipi on a proposed water line,
set to feed lithium development at the rate of 500,000 gallons for every
ton of lithium processed. </p>
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<p><img alt="" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c80109d51f4d48775886f2a/f22124e6-87c7-4d72-849b-b97365c2964c/image_67170561.JPG?format=750w" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 0px;" width="294" height="392">
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<p>The tipi at Ox Sam Camp, illuminated at sunrise (Photo by Chuck Banner)</p>
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<p>Dorece Sam, an enrolled member of the Fort McDermitt
Paiute-Shoshone Tribe, spoke during a Facebook livestream on Friday,
saying “Mother’s Day is coming up. This here is our mother - Mother
Earth, and we want to protect her. We want to stand in unison with
everybody. Bring your medicines, bring your prayers and good thoughts.
Grandmother says this is the start of a new camp. It is called (Ox Sam)
Newe Mogonee Momokonee Camp, meaning Indian Women’s Camp.” <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/02/thacker-pass-lithium-mine-fight-save-sacred-land-nevada" target="_blank" tabindex="0">Ox Sam</a> was one of three members of the Paiute tribe who survived the 1865 massacre.<br><br>PeeHee
Mu’huh (Thacker Pass) is traditional, unceded land of the Paiute and
Shoshone. It is also the location of the lithium mining operation owned
by Lithium Americas Corp. The territory is not part of any treaty lands
ceded to the United States; thus Paiute, Shoshone and other tribal
nations assert the land is still legally their country. </p><p><br>The
tipi was erected to support a ceremony which will last four days. Upon
completion of the ceremony, a camp will continue to press Indigenous
land claims to the unceded traditional territory; which is currently
occupied illegally by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and leased to
Lithium America. </p>
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<p>Grandmother Josephine Dick (left) and Dorece Sam (right) sit in front of the tipi at Ox Sam Camp (Photo by Obisidian_Collective)</p>
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<p>The ceremony was authorized by Indigenous Grandmother Josephine Dick,
a Paiute Elder from Fort McDermitt Reservation; along with Dean
Barlese, an Elder of the Pyramid Lake Paiute-Shoshone; and Dorece Sam.
Supporters are invited to come and pray with them; to come and stand
with Mother Earth. Most of Josephine’s remarks were in her Native Paiute
language and were translated on site. She prayed for relatives from all
over, from sunrise to sunset, to come support and join in prayer.</p>
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<p><img alt="" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c80109d51f4d48775886f2a/b3293953-1a4d-4d41-8bfc-3225069b0979/image_6487327-6.JPG?format=750w" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;" width="392" height="262">
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<p>Dean Barlese blocking traffic to the lithium mining operation at Thacker Pass (Photo by Bucky Harjo)</p>
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<p>Dean Barlese said, “Like my auntie said, we’d like supporters to
come out and pray with us. Stand here and be strong with us. We just
need more people to be out here. We can stop this. We have the tipi here
standing up. We have the fire going. We’re just asking for supporters
to come pray with us. No matter if you go to church. Locals can come,
the ranchers can come if you oppose this. They’re going to take your
water, they’re going to dry it up.”</p><p><br>Also present is Lakota
attorney and activist Chase Iron Eyes, who spoke during the Facebook
livestream; saying that he came “At the invite of our elders, on behalf
of the Lakota Nation and some of the spiritual leaders back home…
they’re sending their voices here for our relatives. They sent the
canvas for the tipi. It meant a lot for us to help put this tipi up for
ceremony.”</p>
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<p><img alt="" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c80109d51f4d48775886f2a/63694d04-051e-4176-8929-cb8eddf14d0e/image_50418689.JPG?format=750w" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;" width="392" height="294">
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<p>An Indigenous land defender blocks traffic at PeeHee Mu’huh (Photo by Buffalo Defense)</p>
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<p>These direct actions come at a time when Indigenous sovereignty and
land rights are under attack in the United States Supreme Court.
Indigenous Nations of Turtle Island are currently awaiting the verdict
for Haaland v. Brackeen, which threatens to up-end the Indian Child
Welfare Act. </p><p><br>As for PeeHee Mu’huh, former President Barack
Obama attempted to preserve the traditional site from further mining
based on the fact that the land is home to the sage grouse, an
endangered species. To the Paiute, Shoshone, and other regional tribes -
PeeHee Mu’huh is a place of reverence; where two historic massacres
occurred. Attorney Will Falk, representing Reno-Sparks Indian Colony,
says that ancestral remains are scattered throughout the site of the
proposed mining operation.</p><p>Supporters can follow Ox Sam Camp on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092743623424" target="_blank" tabindex="0">Facebook (Ox Sam Camp)</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/oxsamcamp" target="_blank" tabindex="0">Twitter (@oxsamcamp)</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/oxsamcamp" target="_blank" tabindex="0">Instagram (@oxsamcamp)</a>.</p></div></div>
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