White Gold

Lithium, Power, and the Andes

By Samuel George
22min2026
Latin American LithiumCritical MineralsMining and Human RightsIndigenous Communities

In Bolivia and Chile, at the lithium-rich heart of Latin America, a global mining boom is accelerating as demand for electric vehicle batteries fuels a scramble for critical minerals—raising urgent questions about power, profit, Indigenous lands, and the true cost of clean energy.

Between 1492 and 1900, approximately 12 million indigenous people in North America were killed by war, disease and murder. Today, 5,500 of those who remain call Minneapolis home.\n\nIn this episode from the Bertelsmann Foundation’s Democracy in Cities series, we explore stories of preserving language, culture and history in one of the largest urban Native American communities in the United States. Set in south Minneapolis, Minnesota, we delve deep into work of civil society organizations that provide employment, healthcare and voter access services to an incredible array of tribal nations from across Minnesota, and get to know the remarkable people of the Native American Community Development Institute who make it all work. This episode is part of a six-part series produced by the Bertelsmann Foundation, in partnership with the Cities program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Still Here