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Native America Calling: Nevada’s mining boom and Winnebago Tribe’s NAGPRA victory
Thursday, May 21, 2026
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Nevada’s mining boom and Winnebago Tribe’s NAGPRA victory
The U.S. government and private mining corporations are ignoring the rights of tribes to free, prior, and informed consent when it comes to lithium mining in Nevada, according to a new report by Amnesty International.

The report comes amid the Trump administration’s fast tracking of metals and minerals extraction. With more than 20,000 active mining claims across the state, tribes are having to weigh how every new proposal would impact their communities.

Thacker Pass
An aerial view of Thacker Pass, a lithium mine in Nevada. Photo: Lithium Americas

Meanwhile, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska that the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) applies to remains buried at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, which is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army.

The decision gets the tribe one step closer to repatriating two children from the oldest Indian boarding school, and could establish legal precedent for federal agencies to comply with NAGPRA in the future.

Winnebago Tribe celebrates precedent in burial of children at Indian boarding school
Winnebago Tribe celebrates precedent in burial of children at Indian boarding school

The Winnebago Tribe has scored a precedent-setting legal victory that paves the way for the repatriation of children buried at the infamous Carlisle Indian boarding school.
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Guests on Native America Calling
Coly Brown (Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska), Chairman of the Winnebago Tribe

Beth Margaret Wright (Laguna Pueblo), senior staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund

Fermina Stevens (Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone), executive director of the Western Shoshone Defense Project

Clifford Banuelos (Te-Moak Tribe of the Western Shoshone), tribal-state environmental liaison for the Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada

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