If completed, the James Bay hydro megaproject in Canada would flood 9492 square miles and damage a watershed the size of West Germany. In Inuit villages, mother's milk is 6 times the World Health Organization maximum safe level. When you turn on your switch, you're killing us. Canadian reporters have been prohibited from revealing information on parts of the project which are handled through secret contracts. SWAT teams have been trained to take over and occupy Cree villages if they protest.
Some electricity is made out of coal.
Some of these ceremonies can no longer be conducted, since the sites have been strip-mined out of existence by coal companies. Some of the people did not find out about the strip-mining until they heard explosions and machinery digging outside their back door. It's a recurring pattern that indigenous people are not even informed of outsiders' plans for their land, much less be consulted. After the traditional Navaho leadership voted 75-0 against a mining lease proposal, the tribal council system was set up using 3 Navaho who agreed to sign. At Big Mountain, Navaho face forced removal from their homes to make way for coal mining, under a law written by a lawyer working for Peabody Coal and passed without the consent of the affected people.