Hello all. Yesterday I watched the Imperial County planning commission meeting regarding a potential gold mine project that would impact Quechan tribal cultural land.
In terms of what happened, all you need to know for now is that the discussion has been continued until December.
But I think what is more interesting – and emblematic of a larger problem – is how it all went down.
Tribal consultation is not something you can just check off a list. Every tribe is different, and each one has their own procedures on how they evaluate new projects.
The planning commission continued the discussion because tribal members (including tribal council members and the tribe president) showed up to the meeting and flagged that their concerns, had not been properly addressed.
Some tribal members had not heard about the project until the morning before the meeting.
When a representative for the gold mine project expressed frustration over the continuance, voices from the crowd yelled,“What’s the rush?”
Stay tuned for more about this project and the ins and outs of tribal consultation when it comes to environmental review.