LAWTON, Okla. — As concerns grow over the environmental and health risks posed by nickel refineries, Westwin Resistance is organizing teach-ins this year to educate and mobilize the community against toxic industrial development on Tribal lands.
Titled “Warning Signs: The Dangers of Building a Toxic Refinery,” the event will take place on Thursday, February 13, 2025, at 6 p.m. CST at 816 W Gore, Lawton, OK 73501.
According to the Center for Disease Control’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), no amount of nickel exposure is safe.
The gathering aims to bring awareness to the potential dangers of Westwin Element’s nickel refinery operations and to get people to organize around the resistance movement.
Since the company broke ground, the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache Tribes (KCA) and the community have expressed concerns for Westwin’s operations.
Science warn that if the company’s nickel refining is not monitored appropriately, it could release hazardous chemicals into the air, soil and water—posing long-term threats to public health and the environment. The company has not been transparent about how its operations will be monitored.
Westwin Resistance teach-in
On the federal level, the Trump administration has rolled back environmental justice initiatives like Justice40, placing 171 EPA employees on paid leave, and wants to claw back $20 million in climate grants. In Lawton, residents are concerned that industries will face fewer restrictions while Tribal lands and marginalized people bear the brunt of the consequences.
Kaysa Whitley, Coalition Coordinator for Westwin Resistance, will lead the presentation, discussing the warning signs of refinery pollution and how residents can protect their communities.
“The main objective for today is to help people understand why we are in this fight and why we call these lands the ancestral homelands of the Kiowas, Comanches, and Apaches,” she told the Black Wall Street Times. “After that we are going to move into laying out our environmental, community, and tribal concerns.”
This event is also a call to action for Oklahomans and Lawton residents to join the resistance at a rally next week to commemorate the one year anniversary of organizing against green colonialism and Westwin Elements. It takes place February 20th at 11 a.m. at 816 W Gore, where Westwin Resistance is having a round dance.
For more information and updates, visit the Westwin Resistance Facebook page. Watch the teach in at 6 p.m. today on their TikTok live.
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- Lawton’s Indigenous communities cite lack of tribal consultation for Westwin refinery
- Activists fight back as Trump rolls back Justice40 initiative