Oak Flat

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 Takes Case Against Copper Mine To The Supreme Court

September 12, 2024 Debra Utacia Krol, Arizona Central. Resist! Copper Mine, Indigenous Rights, Mining, Oak Flat, Sacred sites, Supreme Court

After a two-month pilgrimage across the nation, Apache Stronghold formally presented its appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday in a final bid to stop a massive copper mine from obliterating one of the Apache peoples' most sacred sites. The high court was the last hope for the group after the full 29-justice 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to review the case. Opponents of the mine say the case will be a test of how the court and the government view the religious rights of Indigenous people. Apache Stronghold in April asked the full Ninth Circuit panel to review its lawsuit against the U.S. and Resolution Copper. That move followed an opinion issued by a panel of 11 appeals court judges that ruled narrowly against Apache Stronghold in March, about a year after oral arguments.

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.

Apache Stronghold Continues Journey Of Prayer To The Supreme Court

August 5, 2024 Apache Stronghold, Popular Resistance. Resist! Caravan, Indigenous Rights, Oak Flat, Sacred sites, Supreme Court

Today, August 4, 2024, the Apache Stronghold will be continuing our prayer journey to stop the shattering of human existence and to protect Mother Earth. The prayer journey began in the Lummi Nation, north of Seattle, in July, and it will conclude on September 11, 2024 when the Apache Stronghold files their appeal at the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, with stops along the way visiting tribes and supporters for prayers and ceremony. The full route is outlined below. We will be traveling to Thacker Pass, Nevada for a prayer gathering on August 6. This will be our second stop on the journey.

Apache Stronghold Standing In The Way Of A Massive Copper Mine

May 13, 2024 Brandi Morin, Ricochet Resist! Apache, Arizona, colonization, Indigenous Rights, Landback, Mining, Oak Flat, Sacred sites

In the heart of the Arizona high desert lies a battle for the soul of the land. The ancient, sacred grounds of Apache Native territory are under threat from a looming giant — a massive copper mine that promises riches for the locals, and a pathway to the so-called green transition. But, as is often the case, it comes at a cost. The San Carlos Apache tribe calls it Chi’chil Bildagoteel, English speakers call it Oak Flat. It sits on a mountainous plateau within a 17.3-kilometer oasis in the Tonto National Forest. Rio Tinto and BHP, two of the world’s biggest mining companies, have staked their claim here through a joint venture called Resolution Copper.

Tribal Groups Want Full Ninth Circuit Court To Rehear Oak Flat Appeal

April 30, 2024 Crystal Owens, Law 360. Resist! Indigenous Sovereignty, Legal System, Oak Flat, Sacred sites

An Apache nonprofit is asking the Ninth Circuit's entire 29-judge panel to review its lawsuit that seeks to block a copper mining company from destroying a sacred Indigenous religious site, arguing that an en banc hearing is warranted given the appellate court's latest split decision on the land transfer. In a 268-page petition for a special en banc rehearing, the Apache Stronghold on Monday argued that Ninth Circuit panels have now twice tried to define "substantial burden" in the case's context, and, given the vast power it holds over the lives of Native Americans, unique circumstances warrant a full-court review.

Apache Stronghold: Ninth Circuit Ruling Does Not Advance Mine

March 4, 2024 Apache Stronghold, Popular Resistance. Resist! Indigenous Sovereignty, Legal System, Mining, Oak Flat, Sacred sites

San Carlos Apache Reservation, Ariz.– While the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Friday, March 1, 2024 against the non-profit citizens group Apache Stronghold is extremely disappointing, the ruling does not clear the way for construction of the Resolution Copper Mine. “The culturally and environmentally devastating Resolution project is no closer to construction today than it was before the appeals court ruling,” San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler said. “The Tribe will continue to fight construction of the project that would have devastating impacts to the Tribe’s culture, the environment and Arizona’s drinking water supplies.”

Oak Flat Protectors Need Support

June 19, 2023 Robin Silver, Popular Resistance. Resist! Arizona, Mining, Oak Flat, Sacred sites

Two longtime land protectors are maintaining a camp at Oak Flat right now and need our support. The Apache Stronghold has asked for food donations and gas cards to support their plan to sustain a presence for the foreseeable future. Both Indigenous women are mothers and their families have been a regular part of Oak Flat ceremony and organizing for years. Requested food items have been listed below. If you can offer any of these items or any other food items, please respond to this email. We are also looking for someone who can bring the first delivery to Oak Flat this weekend. Thank you for your support and prayers for Oak Flat.

Feds Pause Progress Of Mine That Will Destroy Sacred Indigenous Site

May 29, 2023 Darren Thompson, Native News Online. Educate! Arizona, Indigenous Rights, Legal System, Oak Flat, Sacred sites

San Francisco, CA - The federal government has temporarily halted plans to construct a copper mine on sacred Indigenous land in Arizona known as Oak Flat, citing an error in oral arguments made at a March hearing. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) official filed a letter to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, May 18, saying it made an error during oral arguments on March 21 when the 9th Circuit reheard Apache Stronghold v. United States, a case that encapsulates a nearly decade-long fight to save the land sacred to the San Carlos Apache Tribe. The letter states that the government was mistaken about when the U.S. Forest Service would issue the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which would finalize a land exchange between the U.S. Forest Service and Resolution Copper, kickng off construction of the mine.

Apache Stronghold Granted New Hearing On Copper Mine

March 12, 2023 Apache Stronghold, Popular Resistance. Resist! Copper, Legal System, Oak Flat, Sacred sites

After a divided ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has agreed to rehear the case “en banc”—meaning in front of a full panel of eleven judges. Oral argument will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in Courtroom Three of the Richard H. Chambers Courthouse, located at 125 South Grand Avenue in Pasadena, California 91105. In June of this year, a panel of three Ninth Circuit court judges ruled 2:1 against Apache Stronghold, with Judge Berzon dissenting and calling the ruling “illogical,” “incoherent,” “flawed,” and “absurd.” Now, a majority of the Ninth Circuit’s 29 active judges has voted to rehear the case and will convene a special panel of eleven judges to decide whether the law allows the government to destroy sacred sites.

Struggle To Save Oak Flats Exposes Ravages Of Colonization, Capitalism

September 19, 2022 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. Podcast Capitalism, colonization, Indigenous culture, Oak Flat, Sacred sites

In 2014, Congress used a midnight rider added to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to hand the Indigenous Sacred Land at Oak Flats in Arizona over to a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, Resolution Copper, to mine, which would destroy the land and pollute the local water. Apache Stronghold and its allies are fighting to protect the land and with it, their cultural identity and religious freedom. A new Bureau of Land Management report and conflict within the Ninth Circuit Court are promising for them. Clearing the FOG speaks with Dr. Wendsler Nosie, Sr. about the significance of Oak Flats and how it exposes the ways colonization and capitalism harm and threaten the existence of most people in the United States, not just the Native American population. Dr. Nosie discusses spirituality, ancient prophecies and the urgent need to work together to change course.

Oak Flat’s Spiritual Convoy

October 14, 2021 Carina Dominguez, Indian Country Today. Resist! Copper, Indigenous Rights, Oak Flat

The Apache Stronghold Spiritual Convoy to the 9th Circuit Court is underway and made a stop in Tucson, Arizona on Wednesday. A Tohono O’odham blessing took place at the popular overlook on “A” mountain, followed by a gathering at Southside Presbyterian Church. The spiritual convoy is underway in hopes of stopping an international mining company, Resolution Copper, and its parent company, Rio Tinto, from extracting copper from the Oak Flat campground area, 60 miles east of Phoenix. Apache Stronghold has issued a litany of complaints, lawsuits and appeals attempting to stop the project from going through, after advocates said the late U.S. Sen. John McCain underhandedly slipped the measure into the National Defense Spending Bill in the 11th hour in December 2014.

Pueblo Of Zuni Blasts Administration’s Position Against Apaches

July 2, 2021 Pueblo of Zuni, Popular Resistance. Educate! Biden administration, Indigenous Sovereignty, Mining, Oak Flat

The Pueblo of Zuni would be remiss in this context to remain silent on the recent legal position taken by the Biden-Harris Administration's Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding Chi'chil Bildagoteel (i.e., Oak Flat) and the Resolution Copper mine in Arizona. The Administration's stated position is unfortunate and extremely troubling, as it is in fact little more than a continuation of a policy of containment and erasure of Native peoples that directly contradicts in substance, content, and spirit the Administration's own E.O. 13985. This position is a reinforcement and reproduction of racist legal legacies of Native dispossession in the United States that gives preference to and promotes resource extraction and environmental destruction to the detriment of the capacities Native people indelibly require for any advancement or support of equity.

USDA Pauses Land Transfer Of Oak Flat To Mining Company

March 2, 2021 Levi Rickert, Native News Online. Resist! Mining, Oak Flat, Sacred sites, USDA

Washington, DC - Citing the Presidential Memorandum signed by President Joe Biden on Jan. 26 on tribal consultation and strengthening nation to nation relationships, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) has put on hold the transfer of 5,439 acres of high-value conservation land in Arizona to Resolution Copper. The acres include Chich’il Bildagoteel, known as Oak Flat, which is the heart of several southwest tribal religious and cultural beliefs. During the last days of the Trump administration, federal officials attempted to speed up the transfer to Resolution Copper that would mine the land. On January 15, 2021, five days before Trump left the presidency, the Tonto National Forest released the Resolution Copper Project Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and draft Record of Decision (ROD) for objection.

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