Apache Stronghold

Eleven Judges Call For Supreme Court To Protect Oak Flat

September 30, 2026 Dr. Wendsler Nosie Sr., Popular Resistance. Resist! Apache Stronghold, Mining, Oak Flat, Sacred sites, Supreme Court

The Ninth Circuit today declined to rehear three lawsuits seeking to protect Oak Flat. While this is disappointing news, we are heartened that eleven judges joined opinions criticizing the court’s decision as a “tragic error” and calling for the Supreme Court to step in. Thus, the fight to protect Oak Flat is far from over. It is coming again to the Supreme Court. Judge Graber, writing on behalf of ten judges, put it simply: “We were wrong.” She said “everyone knew that this second round of litigation was inevitable,” and the courts should act now: “This is our last chance to prevent the irreversible desecration of a place, of a religion, and of a people.”

What’s Next For Oak Flat?

March 24, 2026 Gabriel Pietrorazio, KJZZ Phoenix. Educate! Apache Stronghold, Copper, Indigenous Sovereignty, Mining, Oak Flat, Sacred sites

Oak Flat is officially no longer public land nestled within the Tonto National Forest. The roughly 2,400 acres just east of Phoenix — long-considered Apache holy land — is now private property belonging to a multinational mining company. Despite being under new ownership, Resolution Copper president and general manager, Vicky Peacey, stresses Oak Flat will remain mostly untouched. Chí’chil Biłdagoteel, as Apaches call it, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. “We’re very excited to take the next steps, although in a way that is humble and respectful,” Peacey told KJZZ. “We wanted to make sure that the look — the feel of the area — is very similar to how the Forest Service had managed it.”

Ninth Circuit Thwarts Attempt To Halt Copper Mine At Oak Flats

March 14, 2026 Joe Duhownik, Courthouse News Service. Resist! Apache Stronghold, Copper Mine, Legal System, Oak Flats, Sacred sites

Phoenix, AZ - Western Apaches in Arizona took another loss in federal court Friday when the Ninth Circuit again denied a motion to halt the construction of a copper mine set to swallow one of the most sacred sites in Apache culture. Acknowledging the transfer of eastern Arizona’s Oak Flat into the hands of a private copper mine will permanently destroy the tribe’s historical place of worship, a three-judge panel agreed with a trial judge that the San Carlos Apache Tribe and a coalition of conservation groups challenging the transfer have not established a likelihood of success on their claims, giving the U.S. Forest Service the green light to hand the land over to Resolution Copper.

Apache Women Ask Courts To Halt Land Swap For Oak Flat

July 29, 2025 Debra Utacia Krol, The Arizona Republic. Resist! Apache Stronghold, Land Rights, Legal System, Mining, Oak Flat, Sacred sites

A group of Apache women asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., to halt a disputed land exchange at the center of a long battle over plans to build a huge copper mine at Oak Flat. It's the fourth lawsuit that seeks to stop the U.S. Forest Service from signing over title to the site, held sacred by Apache peoples and culturally significant by other tribes, to Resolution Copper in exchange for other plots of environmentally sensitive land in Arizona. The four women, who all have spiritual and cultural connections to the 2,200-acre campground in Tonto National Forest about 60 miles east of Phoenix, filed their suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia July 24.

Apache Stronghold Makes Emergency Appeal To Save Oak Flat

April 25, 2025 Apache Stronghold, Popular Resistance. Resist! Apache Stronghold, Copper Mine, Legal System, Oak Flat, Sacred sites

A coalition of Western Apaches, other Native peoples, and non-Native allies asked a federal court late yesterday to stop the U.S. government from handing over their sacred site at Oak Flat to a multinational mining giant as early as June 16, 2025. In Apache Stronghold v. United States, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last year refused to stop the federal government from transferring Oak Flat to Resolution Copper, a Chinese-owned mining company that plans to turn the site into a massive mining crater, ending Apache religious practices forever. The emergency appeal comes after the government announced last week it will forge ahead with the transfer even though the case is currently under consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Diverse Coalition Urges Supreme Court To Protect Oak Flat

October 17, 2024 Ryan Colby, Becket Law. Resist! Apache, Apache Stronghold, Arizona, Indigenous Rights, Mining, Oak Flat, Save Oak Flat, US Supreme Court

A coalition of tribal nations, Catholic bishops, states, legal scholars, and diverse religious organizations asked the Supreme Court yesterday to protect the Apache sacred site at Oak Flat from destruction by a multinational mining giant. In Apache Stronghold v. United States, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to stop the federal government from transferring Oak Flat to Resolution Copper, a foreign-owned mining company that plans to turn the site into a massive mining crater, ending Apache religious practices forever

Apache Stronghold On Journey Of Prayer To The Supreme Court

August 31, 2024 Apache Stronghold, Popular Resistance. Resist! Apache Stronghold, Indigenous Sovereignty, Legal System, Oak Flat, Sacred sites, Supreme Court

On July 11th, 2024, the Apache Stronghold started the journey of prayer to the Supreme Court to stop the shattering of human existence and to protect Mother Earth. We have traveled, held ceremonies and gathered prayers from Tribes, Communities, Churches, and people in support of saving Oak Flat and religious freedom and protections for all. We began in the Northwest, Westcoast, South, mid-west to the East to gather in Washington DC at the Supreme court on September 11. We are appealing a lower court ruling that would have allowed the total destruction of Oak Flat by allowing the land to be transferred to Resolution Copper, a foreign owned company, owned by BHP and Rio Tinto.

Apache Stronghold Heads To The East

August 20, 2024 Apache Stronghold, Popular Resistance. Resist! Apache Stronghold, Indigenous Activism, Oak Flat, Sacred sites

As the Apache Stronghold’s prayer journey to the Supreme Court turns East, we are reflecting on our ceremonies and discussions throughout the western segment of the journey. Our prayer journey through the West began in the Lummi Nation, north of Seattle, where we met with the elders of the nations and were given words of encouragement and support. Adalitza, who leads the elder program for the Lummi Nation, spoke of the importance of this fight, saying it’s crucial to set the precedence for the younger ones because it’s the children who will be living in the world we are creating for them. Additionally, in Adalitza’s words, “We’re doing this to take care of the mind, body, and soul of our people because it’s all timely.

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