Tribal Sovereignty
Tribal Sovereignty is a core tenet of our resistance.
Tribal sovereignty is a core tenet of our resistance. The Westwin cobalt and nickel refinery is planned in Lawton, Oklahoma on Kiowa, Comanche, Apache, Caddo, Wichita, and Delaware lands and threatens our sovereignty. We know our homelands better than any corporation and decisions about extractive proposals must be made by our communities.
Whether it is gas, oil, nuclear, or an experimental cobalt refinery, we are repeatedly put on the frontlines of toxic pollution. We are fed up with paying the price of our independence and sovereignty to benefit outside corporations and corrupt politicians.
Tribal sovereignty fights are key in Oklahoma, where state regulatory agencies hold hands with oil, gas and now mineral refining corporations. There is no Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and tribal citizens are not made aware of these projects unless they scour the public records, which is hard and time-consuming work.
This is why we are committed to asserting sovereignty over our ancestral homelands and making sure people close and far know about the dangers of this proposed project.
Together we can build a good economy that does not ruin our health, land, air and water.
After increasing pressure from the local community, Westwin elements held a town hall in which tribal members declared that they do not consent to the building of a pilot plant without extensive environmental review, which has not occurred. Kaleigh Long, the CEO of Westwin Elements, dismissed concerns of sovereignty, signifying it is not a priority of the company. In this town, she stated “certainly the opposition seems strong” and when pushed by tribal members she declared “We will not cease to exist as a project…. what I’m not gonna do is quit.” When asked “So you don’t respect our sovereignty?” and “Are you at least willing to halt construction until all qualifications are completed,” Long stood up, responded “Uhm, no” and left the meeting.
Westwin Elements has shown their true colors. They care only about their profits and will not respect tribal sovereignty.