From Missouri River to Rio Yaqui: We Protect the Water

Dear relatives,

As I write this today from Bismarck, North Dakota, the Missouri River, has frozen over beneath the weight of winter’s embrace. Snowflakes fall gently, a quiet reminder of the sacred cycles of water that surround us. These cycles, eternal and ever-shifting, are part of the larger flow of life, unyielding and resilient–much like the Water Protectors who stand relentlessly against forces that seek to harm our lands, our Peoples, and our waters. It was our organization’s founding mission to protect the Water and protectors at Standing Rock. Nearly 9 years later, we are still fighting for corporate accountability to protect our relatives and still standing with Standing Rock.  

March has arrived, and with it, Water Month at Water Protector Legal Collective (WPLC). Throughout this month, we honor water in all its forms–the rivers, lakes, aquifers, and oceans that sustain life. Water is not merely a resource; it is life itself. Every day at WPLC we work tirelessly to protect the Water–whether it’s the Missouri River watershed that provides water to 18 million people or the Rio Yaqui basin, that flows 320 km (200 mi) and provides water to 1.2 million people in Sonora, Mexico before it empties in the Gulf of California.

We’ve been quiet recently (because hard at work), so I want to take a moment to share some of the updates from our work in these and other efforts to protect the Water for Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island and the world–we do this work not only for those that walk among us today but for our grandchildren’s grandchildren and all future generations.

An Indigenous Perspective on Energy Transfer v. Greenpeace

A lot has been written about ET v. Greenpeace. This case, one of the largest–if not the largest–legal attacks ever brought by an oil company, seeks to silence dissent and chill First Amendment rights. ET, the company behind Dakota Access Pipeline, seeks $300 Million in damages from environmental nonprofit Greenpeace, for alleged defamation stemming from Standing Rock protests; if successful, the lawsuit could bankrupt the organization. 

Many see this SLAPP case as a clash between Big Oil and Big Green. Conspicuously missing from mainstream coverage and analysis of the case, however, have been Indigenous voices and perspectives on the case. This is why I am part of a trial monitoring effort of prominent lawyers, human rights experts and academics, and our WPLC attorneys are on the ground monitoring the Energy Transfer v. Greenpeace SLAPP case.

At WPLC, we have been tracking this case for years–since it was first filed in federal court in 2017 (resulting in dismissal) and then refiled in state court of North Dakota in 2019. Here is a case timeline with the basics. In 2021, WPLC received and fought back against a SLAPP subpoena in the case, and this past year, we filed a motion to intervene to gain public access to over 8,000 pipeline safety documents sealed from the public. The motion was denied but a reconsideration motion has yet to be ruled on. Consistent with our efforts for judicial transparency and public access to information, on February 26, 2025, the WPLC and the Ad Hoc Trial Monitoring Committee, filed a historic petition for Supervisory Writ with the North Dakota Supreme Court seeking livestream access for the public because the case is happening under a veil of secrecy with no public access despite international interest in the case. The writ was denied less than 24 hours later, so we are in the courtroom observing with pen and paper. 

As an Indigenous-led nonprofit law firm and advocacy organization, we know this case could have deep implications for the future of the environmental movement, but our perspective on this case departs from the traditional view that this is mainly about protest. 

At its core, this case is still about the Water and it is a proxy war against Indigenous sovereignty.

Earlier this week, Chairwoman Janet Alkire from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe issued a statement that says, in part: “Energy Transfer’s defamation lawsuit against Greenpeace claims that DAPL does not cross Standing Rock land, that there was no violence against peaceful protesters and that no cultural sites were destroyed during construction. Nothing could be further from the truth: DAPL does cross Sioux Nation treaty and aboriginal land for hundreds of miles; there was violence by law enforcement and Energy Transfer security guards and Tribal burials were destroyed.”

Beyond protest rights and silencing of Greenpeace and broader environmental justice movement, the case is a deeper and more insidious attack by an oil company on Tribal sovereignty and self-determination. 

The claims made by Energy Transfer are not only false, they are an attack on the truth of our lived experiences. Any Indigenous person at Standing Rock or that stood with Standing Rock in some way, knows these claims by ET to be completely false. The case is thus also an attempt to use Greenpeace for erasure of these lived truths–perhaps creating a record for use by ET, Dakota Access, or pro-oil states in litigation like the pending Standing Rock litigation against U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the D.C. Circuit, where Dakota Access and 14 states have intervened. 

Beyond tortious interference claims related to Greenpeace advocacy on bank divestment, the defamation claims against Greenpeace are far beyond the organization’s knowledge or authority to speak about. No matter their dedication to environmental justice, how can Greenpeace be in a position to speak about the treaty rights and lands of Oceti Sakowin beyond what is publicly known? How can it be the singular voice in an adjudication of whether law enforcement brutalized Water Protectors? How can Greenpeace adequately defend what we know to be true–that sacred sites and burial sites were desecrated by ET? They can’t. ET knows this which is why this case is as much about erasure as it is anything else.

Erasure was on full display when VP of Energy Transfer, Joey Mahmoud, took the stand to say desecration of sacred sites was “fake news” and that any determinations done by globally recognized cultural resources expert and knowledge keeper, Tim Mentz Sr., of destruction of cultural and burial sites at Standing Rock, was proven to be false, relying on state historical society documents from archaeologists that never worked with the Tribe.

As our brother and relative, Nick Tilsen, testified in the trial (via recorded video deposition played by the parties), in no uncertain terms, it is “paternalistic” to suggest, as this case does, that Indigenous Peoples need to rely on NGOs for achieving sovereignty. This, Nick said, would be a misunderstanding of the resiliency of our People. 

The trial in the case was originally scheduled to run five weeks but may end as early as next week. ET’s case in chief wraps up today. Our work on this continues. 

Rio Yaqui: Water is Inextricably Linked to Self-Determination

Across the border, on the banks of the Rio Yaqui in Sonora, Mexico, another battle is unfolding. Here, the waters of the Rio Yaqui sustain the lives of thousands of Indigenous Peoples, including the Traditional Eight Yaqui Pueblos of Sonora. But a new threat looms. A proposed lithium mining project, part of a $48 million “greening” initiative called Plan Sonora as part of Mexico’s “energy transition,” threatens not only the land but the water that Yaqui and other Indigenous Peoples of the region rely on for their subsistence. 

This week, WPLC in partnership with IITC, filed an urgent action petition to the CERD on behalf of the Traditional Authorities of the Eight Yaqui Pueblos of Sonora, Mexico, calling for urgent procedures to safeguard the waters of Rio Yaqui from lithium mining contemplated under Plan Sonora. 

Lithium mining, which is being pushed forward to fuel the demand for renewable energy, comes at a heavy cost. The extraction of lithium is water-intensive, often draining already scarce water resources in some of the most drought-prone regions of the world.

Lithium is a highly reactive metal, making up just 0.0007% of the Earth's crust. It’s found locked in minerals and salts, requiring extraction and processing before use. It is a core component in lithium-ion batteries, which power the technology in our daily lives—cell phones, laptops, electric vehicles (EVs), and energy storage systems. Lithium-ion batteries store excess energy when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, releasing it when energy demand rises or production drops. As demand for clean energy grows, lithium use must increase six-fold by 2040 to reach net zero emissions. Yet, lithium mining is often framed as essential to combating climate change, arguing that lithium batteries will power the clean energy future. This is a false narrative. The extraction process is environmentally devastating, lithium mining is responsible for releasing 1.3+ million tons of CO2 per year.

An investigation from the Howard Center at Arizona State University uncovered the electric battery revolution will require billions upon billions of gallons of water to mine lithium in some of the driest regions of the world. Both hard rock and brine lithium mining require significant amounts of water, a critical resource often scarce in mining regions. In drought-prone areas like the American West, lithium extraction intensifies water stress. 54% of energy transition minerals projects are on or near lands of Indigenous Peoples. In the U.S., more than 75% of lithium, copper and nickel reserves and resources are within 35 miles of Native American reservations.

Plan Sonora contemplates the construction of at least 5 lithium mines including other infrastructure like solar, liquified gas, and expansion of the Guaymas port. The open-air lithium mines will draw from the already scarce water resources coming from the Rio Yaqui and intensify the tenuous water security in the desert region of Sonora. Open pit mining produces 37 tons of CO2 per ton of lithium mined. It produces a concave pit and requires all surrounding vegetation be completely cleared. This is the proposed extraction method for the Bacanora Lithium mine (currently on halt due to an international arbitration). 

The Yaqui will be directly affected yet they have not been notified or consulted, and Plan Sonora is moving forward without their Free Prior and Informed Consent guaranteed under international standards, Mexico Treaty obligations to the Yaqui, and Yaqui law.

The Yaqui have defended their water rights for generations. The Yaqui Treaty with Mexico, the Decreto Cardenas of 1937, guarantees 50% of the water flow from the Rio Yaqui to their People; however, Mexico has failed to meet its Treaty obligations. Other commitments in the Sonora Plan Hidrico 2023-2053 and Plan de Justicia Yaqui, both of which promise water access, also fail to address where the water will come from for proposed lithium mining. 

This international fight to protect the Water of the Yaqui River is far from over. We are committed to standing with our Yaqui relatives to ensure their Treaty rights are upheld and that their water, and their future, remains secure.

The Sacredness of Water: A Universal Truth

Since Standing Rock, “Water is Life” has become such a common turn of phrase among environmental organizations, that at times we may not stop to consider how this actually is understood. It seems straightforward enough. Without water, there is no us. It is no coincidence our own bodies are nearly 3/4 water, and we are all intimately linked. Water is the life blood of our Earth Mother–the lifeblood of all things. Our Indigenous ways of knowing are intimately tied to the Water and we have a responsibility to protect it. 

From the frozen rivers of North Dakota to the arid deserts of Sonora, we are called to defend the waters that nourish our lands and sustain our Peoples. As the seasons change, Water is a constant and a reminder that we endure. 

Thank you for your continued support. These are uncertain times, but what remains certain is our unwavering commitment to protecting the Water, Earth, and Her protectors–now and for generations to come. Together, we will ensure that water remains life, now and always.

Urpillay sonqollay,

From the heart,

Natali Segovia, Esq.

Executive Director & Senior Attorney

Water Protector Legal Collective

The Water Protector Legal Collective (WPLC) is 501(c)3 Indigenous-led non-profit law firm and advocacy organization that works to protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Original Nations, the Earth, and climate justice movements. Born out of the #noDAPL movement at Standing Rock, WPLC’s founding mission was to serve as the on the ground legal team for the Indigenous-led movement, providing representation to over 800 Water Protectors facing state repression. Today, WPLC continues to work on the frontlines of struggles to protect the Earth in the United States and internationally, focusing on human rights at the intersection of Indigenous rights, climate and environmental justice.

For your records, here is our address and EIN:

Water Protector Legal Collective

P.O. Box 37065

Albuquerque, NM 87176

EIN: 81-4180619

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