Will Falk’s Life-Centered Writing

Far Harsher Than the Wind

Far Harsher Than the Wind

Feb 21, 2021 | Essays, Thacker Pass

There is already an open pit in Thacker Pass. It was dug as part of Lithium Americas’ exploration of the site. Though it is small – just one half of one of the over 5000 acres Lithium Americas wants to destroy – it is as conspicuous as an open wound on a lover’s body....
Chemical Screams

Chemical Screams

Feb 9, 2021 | Essays, Thacker Pass

If you look across Thacker Pass from the shoulders of the Montana mountains, the land looks like a quilt the Double-H mountains in the south pulled up to their chin to keep warm during the cold winter nights. The hills that roll towards the valley floor are checkered...
The Only Faith We Need

The Only Faith We Need

Feb 4, 2021 | Essays, Thacker Pass

The Montana mountains standing above Thacker Pass in the north taught me that faith does not move mountains, but gravity, volcanoes, erosion, and moving tectonic plates do. A few days ago, while I was struggling with a lack of faith, two ravens circled above by head...
Where is Brigid on Paiute Land?

Where is Brigid on Paiute Land?

Jan 31, 2021 | Poetry, Thacker Pass

I went searching for Brigid in Thacker Pass on Imbolc. I almost saw her pale face on the lingering morning moon. There was a brogue – I could have sworn – in the ravens’ song before they hushed at my approach. Then, I thought I heard celtic spells in...
Taproot

Taproot

Jan 29, 2021 | Essays, Thacker Pass

Now that Max Wilbert and I have stayed at Thacker Pass beyond BLM’s 14-day camping limit, a background dread has settled over me. While it’s unlikely that BLM officers will arrest us right away, if they really want to stop an occupation before it gets...
Sage Songs

Sage Songs

Jan 27, 2021 | Essays, Thacker Pass

Rabbits taught me that each sagebrush has a unique voice. I often take long walks across the steppes in Thacker Pass. It’s not uncommon to spy a rabbit – with one floppy ear pointed one way and one another – peeking out of the tangles of sagebrush branches. Today, as...
Why I Protect Thacker Pass

Why I Protect Thacker Pass

Jan 18, 2021 | Essays, Thacker Pass

On Friday, January 15, 2021, the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) determined that Lithium Americas Corp.’s proposed Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada would comply with the National Environmental Policy Act and issued the necessary Record of Decision....