[take action] Demand Congress act now to save Oak Flat from total destruction

 

COPPER MINING FOR EXPORT? 

ON NATIVE AMERICAN LAND?

PLEASE SPEAK OUT!

Oak Flat in Arizona is sacred to Apaches and other Tribes that have held ceremonies there since the beginning of time. As Apache Stronghold writes, it is “the birthplace of our religion and the site of sacred ceremonies that cannot take place anywhere else.” But now, the federal government has authorized the transfer of this religious place to a multinational mining corporation that wants to mine copper there. The mining project would swallow Oak Flat into a massive crater and forever destroy the place our ancestors have conducted ceremonies and traditional cultural practices. The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear the case Apache Stronghold v. United States, clearing the way for the destruction of Oak Flat. By declining to act, the Court has ignored clear violations of Tribal treaties and the constitutionally protected rights of sovereign Indigenous nations. Apache Stronghold argues that the proposed land transfer violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which is intended to shield communities from precisely this kind of government intrusion on sacred ceremonial practices. In dissent of the court’s decision, Justice Neil Gorsuch agrees with Apache Stronghold, calling it a “grievous mistake -- one with consequences that threaten to reverberate for generations.” He cited Martin Luther King Jr’s church, Ebenezer Baptist Church, as an example of another religious site situated on federal land that the court would never even consider allowing a corporation to destroy for profit. A final Environmental Impact Statement is expected from the federal government as early as June 16, and it’s likely to pave the way for the destruction of Oak Flat. Send a message urging your members of Congress to step up, engage the White House and the U.S Forest Service, and ask that they not destroy this unique and important place for traditional religious practices now. SIGN & SEND As the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) wrote in defense of Oak Flat: “Current laws fail to adequately protect Tribal government interests on federal land. For example, public land containing a cultural sacred site or where a Tribal Nation has a treaty right may currently be sold to private developers -- without any regard for a Tribe’s interest in the land.” We need Congress to act before it is too late. Click here to send a message to your senators and representative urging them to contact the White House and the Forest Service and ask them not to destroy Oak Flat. Hawwih (thank you) for everything you do in defense of Indigenous religious rights. Judith LeBlanc (Caddo) Executive Director DONATE TODAY