The CEO of Rise Gold sent an email to a county employee calling the county “naive” in its dealings with the Nisenan. Spokeswoman Shelly Covert's response is well worth reading.
This article was originally published in the Union and was quickly followed by R.L. Crabb's cartoon.
Rebecca O'Neil
April 14, 2022
[Excerpt]
The CEO of Rise Gold Corp. inadvertently sent an email to a county employee calling the county “naive” in its dealings with the Nisenan.
Ben Mossman’s comment was in response to an April 4 letter by attorney Frank Lawrence, who makes the argument that the consultant who wrote the draft environmental impact report for the Idaho-Maryland Mine failed to consult with the Nisenan.
The tribe is on the state’s Native American Heritage Commission’s Tribal Consultation List, making it entitled to “meaningful consultation,” Lawrence states.
“The revised DEIR must propose meaningful mitigation for the badges and incidents of the genocide, the theft of Tribal ancestral lands, the theft and destruction of Tribal natural and cultural resources, and the destruction of the Tribe’s traditional way of life,” Lawrence states.
Mossman’s reply wasn’t intended for Lawrence, said Jarryd Gonzales, spokesperson for Rise Gold, in an email.
“The county is so naive in trying to assist this group to gain status,” Mossman stated, referring to the Nisenan in an email reply to county planner Matt Kelley and Lawrence. “Welcome to Canada.”
“Rise Gold CEO was forwarded Mr. Frank Lawrence’s April 4 comment letter by a team member. In error, Mr. Mossman sent a short reply that was not intended for Lawrence,” Gonzales said.
Read the rest in the Union.