03/05/23 - Charles Lyons and Charlie Espinosa, Anne Keala Kelly on Thacker Pass

In the first half-hour, Tiokasin talks with Charles Lyons and Charlie Espinosa. They are the co-authors of “For some Colombians, vows of mining reform are just a flash in the pan” (Mongabay, Feb. 20, 2023: http://bit.ly/3mkZrEN). Charles Lyons is a multimedia journalist and filmmaker. He recently produced coverage of the 2022 Brazilian election for PBS NewsHour, which included two long-form reports on deforestation and Indigenous rights. Prior to that, he received an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant to produce and edit coverage of pandemic in Brazil, also for PBS NewsHour. Along with Charlie Espinosa, he is co-writing a series of articles on illegal gold mining in Amazonian countries, for environmental website Mongabay, through support by Amazon Aid Foundation, for which both Charlie and Charles are consultants. Charlie Espinosa is a researcher and writer specializing in gold mining in the Amazon basin. Since 2018, Charlie has worked with the Amazon Aid Foundation, where he helps to implement the Cleaner Gold Network and is the lead author of “Tracking Amazon Gold,” a 50-page report covering the impacts of gold mining across the entire Amazon basin. He has also published articles about gold mining in outlets such as Mongabay, The Chemical Engineer, Green Teacher and others. In tandem with his work for NGOs, Charlie writes poems and essays about the humor and mystery of the natural world.

In the second half-hour, Lead Correspondent Anne Keala Kelly updates us about Thacker Pass, which “First Voices Radio” has been following closely since January 2021. She talks with activist-lawyer Will Falk, who with activist-photographer Max Wilbert started an occupation at Thacker Pass on January 15, 2021, to stop construction of a proposed lithium mine in Thacker Pass, Nevada, known as Peehee Mu’huh in the Paiute language. A new lawsuit was filed in federal district court on February 16th by three nations: Reno-Sparks Indian Colony; Burns-Paiute Tribe; and Summit Lake Paiute Tribe. This is a new lawsuit against the US federal government over Lithium Nevada Corporation’s planned Thacker Pass lithium mine, the latest move in what has become a two-year struggle over mining, greenwashing, and sacred lands in northern Nevada. https://www.protectthackerpass.org/, @ProtectThPass (Twitter), Protect Thacker Pass (Facebook), protectthackerpass (Instagram).

Production Credits:
Tiokasin Ghosthorse (Lakota), Host and Executive Producer
Liz Hill (Red Lake Ojibwe), Producer
Malcolm Burn, Studio Engineer, Radio Kingston, WKNY 1490 AM and 107.9 FM, Kingston, NY
Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Audio Editor
Kevin Richardson, Podcast Editor

Music Selections:
1. Song Title: Tahi Roots Mix (First Voices Radio Theme Song)
Artist: Moana and the Moa Hunters
Album: Tahi (1993)
Label: Southside Records (Australia and New Zealand)
(00:00:22)

2. Song Title: The Road to Hell, Parts 1 and 2
Artist: Chris Rea
Album: The Road to Hell (1989)
Label: Atco (US); Magnet (rest of the world)
(00:51:20)

AKANTU INSTITUTE
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