Heroes
If You Could Write A Letter To The CEO Of A Horrible Company, What Would You Say? Here's One Take.
In high school, we learned about the forceful relocation of Native Americans in U.S. history. But that's all in the past, right? Unfortunately not. In the 1970s, Peabody Energy played a hand in the relocation of hundreds of families, and they're trying to do it again. Below, a young man reads a letter he wrote to the CEO of that company.The video starts off slow with a clip of a speech from a resident of the area in question, but it picks up around 0:30 — so stick around at least till then!
05.23.14
Looking for a bit more context? Here's some (it's fact-checked!):
- In 1974, the U.S. government partitioned Hopi and Navajo reservation lands. Private mining companies, including Peabody Energy, were granted access to resources on or near those lands. Hundreds of families were forcefully relocated.
- The area was mined for coal throughout subsequent decades, resulting in extreme environmental devastation.
- Peabody Energy is currently looking to expand its mining practices, which would result in further relocations.