Protect Our Water Protectors 💧
An invitation to a live streaming event on Wednesday, May 29, 2024
Please join us for a special live streaming event to raise awareness and funds for Thacker Pass protectors on Wednesday, May 29th at 5pm Pacific Time (8pm Eastern Time). You can watch the event on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter/X.
Talk is cheap — but direct action isn't! That’s why a group of water protectors (including me) need your help.
In May 2023, Lithium Nevada Corporation filed a lawsuit against Protect Thacker Pass and seven individuals following a month of non-violent protests on the site of the Thacker Pass lithium mine in northern Nevada.
Thacker Pass is known as “Peehee Mu’huh” in Paiute, and is a sacred site to regional Native American tribes. It’s also biodiverse habitat for threatened and endangered wildlife. The lawsuit is similar to what is called a “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation,” or SLAPP suit, aimed at shutting down free speech and protest.
The lawsuit aims to ban us from the area and force us to pay monetary damages which could total millions of dollars.
If you’re new here, I’m Max Wilbert, co-founder of Protect Thacker Pass and co-author of ‘Bright Green Lies: How the Environmental Movement Lost Its Way and What We Can Do About It.’ This is Biocentric, a newsletter focused on sustainability, greenwashing, and building a resistance movement to defend the planet. Welcome!
Please join us for a live event to celebrate our opposition to the Thacker Pass lithium mine and raise funds for our legal defense. This event will include an update on the mine, Native perspectives on the sacredness of Peehee Mu’huh, a legal discussion about the first-ever biodiversity necessity defense in the United States, and more. This event is free, and everyone is welcome regardless of their ability to donate!
Our speakers may include the defendants in the case (Bhie-Cie Zahn-Nahtzu – Te-Moak Shoshone and Washoe; Dean Barlese – Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe; Max Wilbert and Will Falk – co-founders of Protect Thacker Pass; Bethany Sam – Standing Rock Sioux and Kutzadika’a Paiute Tribes; Paul Cienfuegos – Founding Director of Community Rights US) as well as an attorney assisting in legal defense (Terry Lodge).
The best way you can help us fight this lawsuit is to donate to our legal defense. Please give what you can! As part of the fundraiser we are also offering the opportunity to bid on books, art, drums, and other items offered by the defendants.
The event will take place on Wednesday, May 29th at 5pm Pacific Time (8pm Eastern Time). You can watch the event on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter/X. Mark your calendar and we hope to see you there!
Thank you for all the work you do, Max. I will be attending/donating.