Lithium independence would be a game-changer for clean energy but Native Americans are already suffering for it. In August, researchers reported that the illite in the southern portion of McDermitt Caldera, called Thacker Pass, contains about 1.8% lithium, on average. And McDermitt Caldera could be that resource. AdvertisementAdvertisementMcKinney is part of the Indigenous group called People of Red Mountain that has opposed lithium mining at Thacker Pass. "The world needs to know that this lithium mining, and this fast-tracking of lithium mining, is a continuation of racism on Paiute and Shoshone people," McKinney told NPR.

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Persons: Caldera, Thacker, McDermitt, Jalopnik, There's, Gary McKinney, Al Jazeera, McKinney Organizations: Service, McDermitt Caldera, Chemistry, Nevada -, US, KU Leuven University, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Guardian, Shoshone -, NPR, MSCI Sustainability Institute Locations: Wall, Silicon, McDermitt, Nevada, Nevada - Oregon, Tervuren, Belgium, Thacker, Red, Americas, Al