Paiute tribal members are protesting an NV Energy transmission line project in the hills northwest of Yerington, prompting a pause in construction since September 29. Members of the Yerington Paiute Tribe and Walker River Paiute Tribe have established a protest camp, asserting that the Greenlink West project runs through land containing their ancestors' graves.
The protest began after crews moved dirt at the site on September 28 without cultural monitors present, according to Joshua "Numu" Dini Sr., a Walker River Paiute member and founder of Prayer Horse, a Native nonprofit. Dini stated that cultural monitors informed him crews worked without them in the area, nearly damaging a grinding stone. Tribal members then asked the crews to stop, initiating the ceremony and protest camp the following day.
At the camp, bulldozers and excavators have remained idle, with no requests from NV Energy or the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the group to leave. Tribal members maintain that the land is part of their traditional homelands, even though it is managed by the BLM. Prayer offerings of tobacco, wrapped in colorful cloth, known as tobacco ties, mark areas where tribal members instructed crews to cease work. Despite these markers, a bulldozed road on the hillside was reportedly cut around them and over the top of the hill, an action tribal members believe might have been avoided if local Native cultural monitors were involved.
Vernon Rogers, a cultural specialist for the Yerington Paiute Tribe and a leader at the camp, walked undisturbed ground nearby and located approximately 10 additional artifacts on the first day of the protest. Rogers highlighted the gravity of the situation, stating, "The desecration of the land is one thing, but the burials are totally different." Tribal members believe crews have already disturbed culturally significant ground, emphasizing that there are burials throughout the entire valley.
The federal approval for the Greenlink West project mandates "archeological and Tribal monitoring" to protect historic and cultural sites, requiring monitors to be present whenever crews work within 30 meters of a known historic site. However, tribal members expressed concerns that the Native cultural monitors on the project might not be from the immediate area, suggesting that local tribal members should have been involved with surveyors.
Less than a week into the protest, on October 5, the BLM notified tribes of three "unanticipated discoveries" made during Greenlink West construction. According to an email from Shannon Deep Connolly, a BLM energy and transmission line archaeologist, construction paused within 30 meters of each discovery. The email did not specify what was found or where, though it stated all three discoveries were recommended as not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Rogers believes these discoveries were human remains and were found in a different section of the line, across the valley from the camp.
Despite the pause at the main protest site, Rogers noted that crews have continued working on other parts of the project nearby. Dini personally conveyed to crews that the request to halt applied to the entire area and all equipment, but indicated that this request "still falls on deaf ears."
In response, NV Energy stated that it "respects the cultural significance this area may hold for tribal communities." The company confirmed that construction near the site northwest of Yerington was "voluntarily paused for a period of time" to address safety concerns, while work in other areas proceeded as planned. NV Energy affirmed that work is advancing under approved permits, with oversight from cultural resource specialists, tribal monitors, and other experts.
Tribal spiritual leaders plan to conduct a ceremony to apologize to ancestors for the disturbance of their resting places. Delmar Stevens, a Yerington Paiute tribal member, brought a canvas teepee to the camp, describing it as a symbol of freedom and resistance, and rooted the protest in spirituality. The camp, initially organized as a seven-day ceremony by Dini’s nonprofit, now sees tribal members gathering around a fire each morning. Rogers arrives early to build the fire before sunrise, offering tobacco or cedar in exchange for warmth. He emphasizes that for the tribe, the land is medicine and a source of life, not merely a resource.
The Greenlink West transmission line is a roughly 350-mile project extending from Las Vegas through the Yerington area to Reno. It is one half of NV Energy's approximately $4.2 billion Greenlink project, envisioned over a decade ago with the aim of strengthening Nevada's power grid. The project has been in development since 2019, received Department of the Interior approval in September 2024, and is expected to be in service by May 2027. The other half, Greenlink North, which would connect Ely to near Yerington, is still awaiting final federal approval.