"Organization Sign-On Letter to Tesla: Respect Indigenous Peoples in your Supply Chain", 20 September 2020.

It has come to our attention that Tesla is actively seeking to establish long-term contracts with nickel producers. In this regard, we, the undersigned representatives of Indigenous Peoples, environmental and human rights organizations, experts and representatives of academia reiterate a call from Indigenous Peoples of Russia urging Tesla NOT to associate in any way with nickel producer Nornickel, a company with an extensive and ongoing record of human rights violations and environmental devastation. Given Tesla’s written commitment to sustainable energy production, sound environmental practices, and respect for human rights, Nornickel should not be considered a viable partner.

The Nornickel mining company operates on and has caused extensive environmental damage to the territories of Indigenous Peoples in the Arctic. Sámi, Nenets, Nganasan, Enets, Dolgan and Evenk communities have occupied the land for generations, but suffer as a result of Nornickel’s negative impacts on their herding, hunting, fishing, and overall economic and subsistence activities, as well as their physical health and well-being.

...we echo the Aborigen Forum’s call urging Tesla to encourage Nornickel to implement... actions in order to comply with minimum standards set out by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples...

We applaud Tesla’s leadership in energy sustainability and the move to reduce the world’s dependence on fossil fuels, an industry that also does great harm to Indigenous Peoples around the world. As a major buyer of nickel worldwide, we urge Tesla to continue this leadership role by highlighting Nornickel’s negligence and publicly refusing to buy from Nornickel while they have not complied with the environmental and human rights standards detailed in this letter...