WIKIEUP, Ariz. — In the desert hills of western Arizona, Ivan Bender drives his ATV to inspect holes in the ground. The holes are near the property of the Hualapai tribe, and an Australian mining company drilled them in recent years as it explores for lithium, a key metal in many electric vehicle batteries.
Bender, a Hualapai tribal member, is the property's caretaker, and he says he had no input when the company came on Hualapai land to access the spots where they drilled the holes.
