Indians protest plan for mine

Monday, July 9, 2001 | 10:47 a.m.

RENO -- Indians staged a protest over a Chicago-based company's plans for an open pit clay mine and kitty litter plant in a community north of Reno.

Nearly 150 Hungry Valley Indian Colony residents and environmentalists gathered Saturday at a tribal powwow against Oil-Dri Corp.'s proposal.

Tribal members strongly oppose the project, saying it would subject them to noise and dust. Some fear their ancestors' graves will be harmed.

The mine is planned on about 300 acres of federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and bordered by a fast-growing residential area 10 miles north of downtown Reno.

Alan Mandell, chairman of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, said the BLM has failed to address American Indian concerns about the project.

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