Right now, the Trump administration is rushing to approve a mining contract in the Chí’chil Biłdagoteel Historic District of Arizona, a high desert oasis considered sacred to multiple Indigenous tribes.
This contract would transfer ownership of land with deep cultural ties and ceremonial meaning to — and we can’t make this up — a UK-Australian mining company notorious for destroying Juukan Gorge, a treasured 46,000-year-old Aboriginal site.
Trump’s Department of Agriculture (USDA) is ignoring this past destruction — fast-tracking a transfer of 2,422 acres to Rio Tinto’s Resolution Copper Mining and allowing copper mining to start in this district, commonly called “Oak Flat.”
It’s despicable, but it’s not surprising. Decades of profit-first policy have privileged the interests of multinational corporations over those of Indigenous communities. We can’t trust Rio Tinto or the Trump administration to ensure this land gets the protections it requires. Congress has got to act fast and pass the Save Oak Flat Act — and YOU can help.
Add your name to urge your members of Congress to cosponsor and support legislation to repeal the land transfer.
You might be asking: what does this have to do with our work? Well, this is it: We see the fights for Indigenous rights, environmental justice, and peace as one and the same.
And the truth is: U.S. foreign policy has long exploited Indigenous people and their lands for profit. It happened when the United States waged an all-out war on Native peoples across the country. It happened when the government instigated coups against Indigenous leaders in Latin America. It’s happening again, right now.
The San Carlos Apache Tribe, the Tonto Apache Tribe, the White Mountain Apache Tribe, the Yavapai-Apache Nation, the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe, the Gila River Indian Community, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, the Hopi Tribe, and the Pueblo of Zuni have visited Oak Flat to conduct ceremonies and gather traditional medicines for millennia.
And these groups have been fighting attempts to mine their sacred lands for decades. And until October, they thought they had until the end of 2021 to keep up that fight. But the Trump administration has rushed the review period’s deadline to THIS MONTH.
This land transfer represents yet another instance of the U.S. government’s long history of exploitation and violence toward Indigenous peoples — the USDA’s own report notes that Rio Tinto’s destructive panel-caving mining techniques would ultimately leave a roughly 1.8 mile-wide CRATER in the 11 square mile area.
Rep. Raúl Grijalva and Senator Bernie Sanders introduced legislation earlier this year to STOP the transfer, preventing Rio Tinto’s destructive mining efforts and preserving the land. But as of right now, it has just 46 cosponsors — barely one-tenth of Congress — and Rep. Keating and Sen. Markey aren’t on the list.
We’ve got to see these bills get more support and urge their quick passage. And we can do this by getting LOUD right now and getting this bill on Congress’ radar.
Add your name to urge your members of Congress to support the Save Oak Flat Act NOW!
In the final days of the Trump administration, there is a mad dash to sell off public lands for gas and mineral extraction — it doesn’t seem to matter who gets hurt in the process.
But it matters to us. Together, we can stop this land transfer IF we act FAST. Please add your name now.
Thank you for working for peace,
Shayna, Annika, Michael, and the Win Without War team
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