I believe that the past does give us a better focus on the present than we might otherwise have were we to proceed without looking in our rear view mirror.  So what might that "past" view show Native Americans of Northern Nevada as some of them, at least, continue to organize and resist the development of the LAC Thacker Pass Project?

Take a quick look of what happened with the Hopi and Navajo tribes in Arizona in recent years.  Some Northern Nevada Native Americans might indeed have the situation for those 2 tribes in Arizona in mind when they consider the pros and cons of a possible LAC Thacker Pass lithium mine in Northern Nevada.  See the link below for details:

Navajo and Hopi tribes campaign to remain on Black Mesa lands and protect it from coal mining, United States, 1993-1996 | Global Nonviolent Action Database (swarthmore.edu)

"Peabody built its first mine on this coal-darkened plateau 50 years ago, and in the process dug up an adjacent American Indian village. The dig uncovered an “enormous body of knowledge” about ancient Indian tribes who flourished here three millenniums ago, according to Beth Sutton, a Peabody spokeswoman. But Leland Grass, a Navajo horse trainer, called the dig a “desecration.” He and other tribe members complained that Peabody handed off 192 sets of human remains to an anthropology professor, destroyed ancient petroglyphs and archaeological ruins, and warehoused 1.2 million artifacts at Southern Illinois University, which helped conduct the dig. Unlike the pipeline project at Standing Rock, however, Peabodyʼs mine plan has the backing of the official tribal governments because the original mine is one of the few sources of jobs and revenue on the impoverished reservations. Peabody has paid about $50 million per year to the Navajo and Hopi tribes since 1987, according to a federal report released in 2012, because the mine was built on tribal land.

But several powerful Navajo nongovernmental organizations, at odds with their leaders, have joined with the Sierra Club to try to curb the mine expansion, arguing that the mine harms air and water quality and that Peabodyʼs initial plan did not include enough protections for so-called cultural resources like graves. While they acknowledge that they cannot stop the mine project, they at least want Peabody and the government to protect ceremonial sites, ruins and graves in the expanding mineʼs path. To that end, these groups have brought a lawsuit that has forced the government to undertake a Preservation Act study to identify burial grounds and sites of archaeological importance. For projects on or near tribal land, the government must consult with tribes. The problem, however, say tribal activists and preservation law experts, is that the permitting system is set up in such a way that it usually favors the project proponents while giving short shrift to tribal concerns. Even when “tribal consultation does happen, itʼs often not in the spirit of the law,” said Anne Mariah Tapp, a lawyer who works on similar cases for other tribes."

PeabodyEnergyNativeAmericansInDisputeOverMiningInArizona.pdf (riversimulator.org)

Ok, so that was Arizona and that was Peabody, what does that have to do with Northern Nevada Native Americans and with LAC?

Hey, Nevada Tribes and Hopi are within the Western Region served by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).  They don't need the BIA to tell them what is happening one to the other, though.  They would be completely aware of it without any U.S. governmental agency to spread the word.  Nevada Indians are not blind to the situation with Peabody vs the Hopi and the Navajo.

Ancient history, you say?  Well, then how about June 2021... just a little over a year ago when the Nevada legislature passed a new Nevada Mining Tax Deal without consulting any Nevada Native American tribe?  In the language of one Native American, the Nevada tribes were "locked out" of the negotiations of the Nevada legislature and they certainly didn't benefit from what the mining industry in Nevada estimated could be as much as $300 Million dollars over the next 2 years (2021-2023).

Tribal Governments Excluded From Nevada Mining Tax Deal, Advocates Say - capradio.org

Then again, you can always go back to "ancient history" and find tons of reasons that Native Americans might not believe all promises of a better life that are made to them:

10 Atrocities Committed Against Native Americans In Recent History - Listverse

What Are Some of the Injustices Against Indigenous Peoples? (thoughtco.com)

In my earlier journey in life I found myself at Fort Belknap, Montana back in 1991 as I interviewd for a job with the Federal Govenment on the Fort Belknap Indian Community's Reservation.  So what does that have to do with how mining relates to Native Americans? 

Well, I was offered the job, but instead went to a location in Nevada, however had I taken the job at Fort Belknap then the link below has a description of what happened there as a result of the gold mining that took place in that location and would have continued while I might have been at Fort Belknap, not exactly "ancient history":

Mining Companies Strike Gold by Destroying Public Lands - In These Times

To save time I have extracted a pertinent paragraph:

"The Little Rocky Mountains, just south of the Fort Belknap Indian Community’s reservation in Montana, were once verdant, tree-covered peaks sheltering a lively array of wildlife. Today, they are a pale-yellow slash on the tribe’s southern horizon. For years, orange-tinged streams poured off the slopes onto the tribal land below. The contamination came from a gold mine that had operated in the mountains from the 1860s until 1998. The mine used cyanide to extract the gold. The process produced tremendous amounts of toxic runoff, which included not just cyanide but acids created when the rocks were exposed to air. That all made its way into local tap water.

"The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was enacted in 1978 in response to a crisis affecting American Indian and Alaska Native children, families, and tribes. Studies revealed that large numbers of Native children were being separated from their parents, extended families, and communities by state child welfare and private adoption agencies. In fact, research found that 25%–35% of all Native children were being removed; of these, 85% were placed outside of their families and communities—even when fit and willing relatives were available.

Congressional testimony documented the devastating impact this was having upon Native children, families, and tribes. The intent of Congress under ICWA was to “protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families” (25 U.S.C. § 1902).

ICWA sets federal requirements that apply to state child custody proceedings involving an Indian child who is a member of or eligible for membership in a federally recognized tribe."

About ICWA » NICWA

In my limited reading about ICWA it seems that not everyone in "Indian Territory" is completely happy with present day application of ICWA.  The reason I included a reference to ICWA was to emphasize just how bad things were for Indian families in the U.S. prior to passage of ICWA back in 1978.  1978 wasn't all that long ago and it took so many decades and a couple of centuries of repeated injustices on the part of the United States government for the U.S. government to finally come up with the ICWA restrictions regarding child custody proceedings.  

The previous forced involuntary break up of Native American families as part of the Indian Boarding School action of the U.S. government overtly committed to separating Indian children from their culture, language and heritage is one of the most egregious episodes of any government anywhere towards its indigenous population.  

In my earlier years I was an employee of the U.S. government via the Indian Health System (IHS).  In that capacity I was fortunate to meet quite a few members of different tribes in Northen Nevada.  On so many occassions that I have lost count I came in contact with individuals who had, as a small child, been extracted from their biological parents and placed in Stewart Indian School in Carson City, Nevada.

Museum info | Stewart Indian School

I have heard many stories from the "alumni" of Stewart Indian School that if the same things were being carried out on children of the "dominant culture" ( my culture ) today, 2022, then no doubt our court system would be flooded with law suits by the parents of children where the children were involuntarily seized and separated from thier parents.

The rest of us like to tell ourselves that these events happend so long ago as to be "ancient history".  If that is true then I would never have heard first hand accounts over and over again in my time working with Northern Nevada Native Americans.

I can assure you that no Native American living today has forgotten the forced separation of children to attend schools set up with the avowed pupose of taking the "Indian our of them" and changing their culture to that of the "dominant culture".  

The lesson here is simply that Native Americans, whether in tribes in Northern Nevada protesting against the proposed LAC Thacer Pass lithium mine or some tribe in New York or Maine, thousands of miles away, they all have valid historical reasons for "trust issues" regarding both mining companies and the U.S. goverment in general and against specific U.S. governmental agencies.  Reasons, that if our roles were reversed, then you and I would have the same animosity toward mining companies in general and against the U.S. government in particular.

OK, so what is my point?

My point is that I truly believe that the success of LAC's Thacker Pass has the capacity to become a very good thing for Northern Nevada Native Americans in the way pointed out by Cal on this Hub, Jobs, for sure.  But, as for "the American Dream", I don't know if there is complete congruency between the Native American Dream and "the American Dream".  Since I am not Native American I can't answer that question and I don't presume to answer it for them.

If LAC were to assume a paternalistic stance in its dealing with Native Americans instead of a partnership then I can't see how that relationship between the two parties could ever become completely amicable and rewarding for both parties.  It hasn't worked anywhere in the U.S. in the past and it won't work in the future.  LAC, in order to establish itself as a "Good Neighbor" has to genuinely commit itself to being that "Good Neighbor" and not just go forward with empty words and certainly not go forward with a hidden agenda to deceive their "Neighbor". 

I am just foolish enough to believe that Zawadzki's words will match his and LAC's deeds. 

Should that be the case then I believe the Thacker Pass lithium mine will be good for LAC, good for LAC investors and good for the affected Native Americans as well.

My first lesson in working with Native Americans as a non-Native American was simple:  Trust takes a long, long time to earn. 

They don't give their trust quickly.  "Indian Time" is a concept it takes non-Indians quite a while to appreciate.  I don't know if the 13, almost 14, years I spent with Native Americans in Northern Nevada ever earned trust from most of them, but I do believe that I did obtain that honor from at least a few.  And what an honor it was! 

I value those years in ways I could never fully express.  What a wonderful people and what a wonderful culture.  I truly wish them well.

If LAC wants a good relationship with Nevada Native Americans then it will be earned, and not quickly.  It takes time and, after all, it can only be earned if LAC does a better job in relating to the tribal members than other mining companies have done in the past and a better job than other government agencies have done in the past.  Impossible?  Of course not, LAC is committed to doing things differently. Tossing a few high paying, by local Fort McDermitt economy standards, jobs is not what I would call a sincere commitment.  After all, didn't Peabody offer jobs to the local indeginous population as well?  I would hope that LAC has something far more in depth in mind for its soon to be 40+ year association with the "Neighbors" ajacent to (by geography, culture and history) Thacker Pass.

Don't forget the article and opinion expressed by Professor Glenn Miller, retired Environmental Sciences Professor at UNR.  He wrote in praise of all the environmental precautions proposed by LAC for the Thacker Pass Project.  Go back and read his comments if you have forgotten them and, while you are at it, review Alexi Zawadzki's comments as well.

Zawadzki and Miller are THE 2 main reasons I believe that Thacker Pass Project will be "Different" from those of other mining companies and "Different" in a good way!  We don't want to follow the template forged by Peabody.

JMO 

Zawadzki and Evans, hope you are "paying attention".  It will soon be Game Time!

Okiedo