Heavily contested pumped hydro-storage project gets federal go-ahead - High Country News

"The site, called Pushpum, or "Mother of All Roots," is one of a dwindling number of seasonal gathering grounds where the Ḱamíłpa harvest endemic heirloom root vegetables. The peak overlooks the mid-Columbia River and the sagebrush steppe, and access to its view is critical for propagating the stories that form the architecture of regional Indigenous thought."

"Ḱamíłpa representative Elaine Harvey has called the site "irreplaceable," and the proposed project a "total desecration" of the mountain. The project has brought industry's appetite for land into direct conflict with tribal sovereignty, cultural preservation, biodiversity and community voices."

"The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and their allies - which include the National Congress of American Indians, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, Columbia Riverkeeper, Sierra Club, American Rivers and over a dozen individual tribal governments - have fought for years to protect the site."

A $2-3 billion pumped hydro-energy storage project called Pushpum, or "Mother of All Roots," has received final federal permitting despite significant opposition from the Ḱamíłpa Band of the Yakama Nation. The site serves as a critical seasonal gathering ground where tribal members harvest endemic heirloom root vegetables and maintain cultural practices. The proposed facility would tunnel through the mountain to connect reservoirs for energy storage, fundamentally altering the landscape and destroying access to views essential for transmitting Indigenous knowledge and regional thought. The Yakama Nation, supported by numerous tribal governments and environmental organizations, has fought for years against the project, characterizing it as irreplaceable cultural desecration. The conflict represents a direct clash between industrial energy development and tribal sovereignty, cultural preservation, and community voices.

Read at High Country News