UCLA Journal of Environmental Law and Policy

Twelve years ago, a Canadian mining company started drilling for graphite in the Kigluaik Mountains. The Native Villages of Mary’s Igloo, Brevig Mission, and Teller were never notified of the start of exploration, despite their proximity to the proposed mine site and the significance of the Kigluaiks in their culture and creation story. Adding insult to injury, in July 2023, the Department of Defense (DoD) granted Graphite One $37.5 million dollars to expedite the feasibility study for this mine. To this day, the DoD has not consulted with the Tribes regarding the Graphite One mine.

The DoD wants to expedite the project because there is currently no domestic manufacturing of graphite in North America, and graphite is an essential ingredient for both renewable energy technologies and weapons manufacturing. While local Tribes oppose the mine, many Tribal members feel that mine development is inevitable, especially given that the Graphite One mine is on State land (and thus subject to fewer environmental and Tribal consultation requirements) and the project has the federal government’s blessing.

This Comment pushes back against that feeling of inevitability by identifying existing tools within federal environmental and federal Indian law that Tribes affected by mining projects can wield to mandate consultation and participation in mine-related decision-making. Using Tribal opposition to the Graphite One mine as an example, this Comment explores actions Tribes have already taken and further steps Tribes could take to protect their homelands and subsistence resources from mining projects.

As the Green Transition intensifies the need for minerals used in renewable energy technologies, Tribal consultation and participation in mine-related decision-making grows increasingly important. Without meaningful consultation with Tribes, the Green Transition will inevitably follow in the footsteps of the fossil fuel past it seeks to replace: extracting resources from Indigenous lands and threatening subsistence lifestyles. This Comment imagines a just transition where Indigenous ways of life are honored and uplifted.