The Apache tribe in Arizona is escalating its conflict with the federal government and copper producers by appealing to the Supreme Court to protect what they claim are their religious rights to sacred land at Oak Flat, Fox News reports.
The nonprofit group Apache Stronghold, representing the tribe’s interests, seeks to preserve Oak Flat, which they describe as a “direct corridor to the Creator” and an essential site for their sacred ceremonies.
In their petition to the Supreme Court, Apache Stronghold argues that the government has historically safeguarded Apache rituals at Oak Flat. However, the discovery of copper beneath the site has prompted the government to transfer the land to Resolution Copper, a company formed by multinational mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP. The group contends that the mining operation would irreparably damage Oak Flat, creating a massive crater that would end sacred Apache ceremonies forever.
The petition asserts that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and the Free Exercise Clause prevent the government from taking such actions, and it requests the high court to overturn a previous lower court decision.
Located east of Superior, Arizona, Oak Flat covers 6.7 square miles and is home to old-growth oak trees, sacred springs, burial sites, and numerous archaeological locations that testify to continuous Apache use for the last 1,500 years. Wendsler Nosie of Apache Stronghold has referred to Oak Flat as the “Mount Sinai” of their faith.
The fight for Oak Flat intensified after a major copper deposit was discovered between 4,500 to 7,000 feet beneath the site in 1995. In response, congressional proponents of Resolution Copper introduced at least twelve standalone bills to transfer Oak Flat to the corporation from 2005 to 2013, but each attempt failed.
In 2014, the land-transfer legislation was successfully attached to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by Republican Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake. This law authorized the transfer of a 2,422-acre parcel that includes Oak Flat to Resolution Copper in exchange for some 5,344 acres of land elsewhere, revoking existing protections for the sacred site.
An environmental impact statement (EIS) published by Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack on January 15, 2021, confirmed that the mining operation would indeed destroy Oak Flat.
The Supreme Court may consider the case as early as October.
