This article was originally published in Crosscut on June 29, 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
by Manola Secaira \/ June 29, 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When green energy projects bloom across Washington, many are on cultural sites important to tribes in the region. The Yakama Nation\u2019s director of natural resources feels torn about the increasing number of windmills and dams in his tribe\u2019s ancestral territories. While Phil Rigdon (Yakama) supports the pursuit of greener energy sources, he has also been part of the tribe\u2019s opposition to these developments when they\u00a0negatively impact cultural sites<\/a>. Their concerns are not often heard by developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen people talk about green energy and energy development, we want to make sure that it’s not going to be \u2026 on the backs of our people like it has been,\u201d says Rigdon. \u201cWe want to be part of the green, but we don\u2019t want it to be at the continued degradation of our treaty rights, and our access to foods, and our responsibility to our way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n These concerns were a driving force for members of the Yakama Nation when they decided to support the state Climate Commitment Act, Senate Bill 5126<\/a>, which would establish a cap-and-trade system in Washington and direct money raised through the act toward projects to reduce carbon emissions \u2014 including investments in green infrastructure projects. Key to the act was a tribal consultation requirement for projects paid for by the bill, which Rigdon and other supporters hoped would protect tribal lands into the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On May 17, Gov.\u00a0Jay Inslee signed the Climate Commitment Act but vetoed the portion calling for tribal consultation. In\u00a0a letter<\/a>\u00a0to tribal chairs in Washington, Inslee explained his concern that the terms of this portion of the bill were overly \u201cundefined and broad,\u201d and that while he supported the need for tribal consultation, the terms as stated differ \u201cfrom our current government-to-government approach, and does not properly recognize the mutual, sovereign relationship between Tribal governments and the State.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n