| Indigenous Speakers Address US Mining Country Audience Indigenous people from the western United States, Guatemala, and Bolivia participated in a one of a kind tour this fall, traveling through US mining country to talk about the industry's impact on their communities.
The tour, organized and supported by the No Dirty Gold campaign, began on Indigenous People's Day (otherwise known as Columbus Day) at George Washington University in Washington, DC. From there, the speakers traveled to the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado, the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and the University of Nevada, Reno.
Speakers described the human and environmental toll associated with mining. And they demanded community consent - the right to decide if, when, and how a mine can operate on their land.
"This was a very important initiative because we spoke to people who are the next generation of the mining industry," said Mario Tema, an indigenous community leader from Sipacapa, Guatemala.
"They need to know the impacts of the industry they are preparing to enter. And they need to learn how to operate with respect for indigenous peoples."
The No Dirty Gold campaign's organizers chose each tour stop because it represented an important training ground for the mining industry. The universities were ideal places to speak directly with engineering students, faculty, student environmental organizations, and mining industry officials.
During a University of Reno event, Carlos Cuasace of Oxfam America partner, Organización Indígena Chiquitana (Chiquitano Indigenous Organization), told an audience that mining in the Chiquitano Forest region of Bolivia had damaged the land and made it nearly impossible to farm.
According to the Associated Press, Cusace said, "We can no longer grow anything. We can no longer produce rice, corn or anything we use to live from."
Honest revelations like those made the stark realities of mining come alive for many who met the tour participants.
"It was astounding to hear their stories, and to hear firsthand accounts of what they've been through and seen," said Tim Stout, an Oxfam America-trained CHANGE leader who helped organize an event at the University of Utah.
"The other students I talked to afterward were just in disbelief that these kinds of things happen."
- Andrea Perera, Oxfam America | 
