The copper mine looms over the Apache people at ceremony on Oak Flat with the circle of protective trucks.
It has been a long journey for Apache Stronghold. A journey stretching out over two decades to save a sacred Apache site outside Phoenix ― and close to the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation ― from being swallowed up by destructive copper mining.
After many well-publicized legal battles, peaceful protests, rallies, prayer circles, public outcry, reverent ceremonies, community outreach, and a narrow 6-5 loss in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year, the Stronghold’s unwavering quest to protect Oak Flat in the Tonto National Forest ― where the Apache have gathered to pray and worship since time immemorial ― has led to the U.S. Supreme Court.
On September 11, 2024, after a 9,000-mile caravan winding through 12 states to Washington, D.C., Apache Stronghold ― joined along the way by passionate Native and non-Native supporters, including many faith leaders ― held a day of prayer on the steps of the Supreme Court. This event marked the filing of Apache Stronghold’s request for the court to hear its appeal of the 9th Circuit’s opinion that the Apaches’ right to worship at Oak Flat is not protected under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
“Chí’chil Bildagoteel (Oak Flat) is our Mt. Sinai ― our most sacred place where generations of Apaches have come to connect with our Creator, our faith, and our land,” says Apache Stronghold leader and former San Carlos Tribal Chairman Dr. Wendsler Nosie Sr. “We pray the justices will protect Oak Flat and ensure that our place of worship is not treated differently simply because it lacks four walls and a steeple.”
Apache Stronghold leader Wendsler Nosie Sr. stands outside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s church in Montgomery, Alabama, on the group’s journey to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The U.S. Government’s broken promises, with respect to Oak Flat, are all too familiar to Native Americans. Under the 1852 Treaty of Santa Fe, the federal government promised to protect Apache land. It honored that promise for many decades, placing Oak Flat on the National Register of Historic Places. But in 2014, in a backroom deal, Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake snuck a rider into the National Defense Authorization Act to transfer ownership of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper, a foreign mining company that plans to completely destroy Oak Flat to dig the largest copper mine in North America there.
Resolution Copper and some locals from nearby depressed mining towns argue that the copper beneath Oak Flat is needed for transitional minerals for the “green” economy and that the mine would create jobs for local workers. But Peggy Mainor, executive director of the Native-led Multi-Indigenous Community Action (MICA) Group, an organization working closely with Apache Stronghold to help protect Oak Flat, disagrees.
Former San Carlos Tribal Chairman Dr. Wendsler Nosie Sr. addresses the crowd on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in September 2024.
“The Resolution Copper mine will use a new technology called ‘block cave mining.’ Block cave mining allows minerals to be mined so deep beneath the surface that the mining will have to be automated because heat will make it impossible for humans to mine it. Mine experts know this, but it serves Resolution Copper’s purposes to allow local people to believe the mine will provide jobs,” Mainor explains. “We know the copper ore will go to China because there are no smelters in the U.S. large enough to handle this amount of copper and because a Chinese company, Chinalco, is the largest minority shareholder of Resolution Copper, a British-Australian company.”
Mainor adds that the most shocking truth is that there is already enough copper in U.S. landfills to fulfill the U.S.’s copper requirements. “Why are Indigenous peoples being forced to sacrifice their cultures for the so-called ‘green’ economy?”
The fight being waged by Apache Stronghold has support from many allies. The National Congress of American Indians and the Intertribal Council of Arizona, which represents 21 of 22 federally recognized tribes in Arizona, have passed resolutions in support of protecting Oak Flat. And a national poll revealed that 74% of Americans also believe that Oak Flat should be protected from destruction, even after they have been told about the benefits of mining there.
So much at stake for the Apache people
If Resolution Copper gets the green light to start drilling below the surface of Oak Flat, the sacred land will cave in completely and create a nearly two-mile-wide, 1,000-foot-deep crater as tall as the Eiffel Tower, based on data from federal planning records.
And Chí’chil Bildagoteel, “the place where the Emory oak grows,” would cease to exist.
Then there’s the water issue. Water, the resource that gives life, is scarce in the drought-stricken state of Arizona. According to the website “Save Arizona Water,” Resolution Copper proposes to suck up 250 billion gallons of desert groundwater in the state over a 40-year period to support its mine at Oak Flat. That amounts to 17 million gallons of water PER DAY, without Resolution Copper ever having to pay for a drop of it due to a loophole in mining regulations.
Naelyn Pike, the granddaughter of Wendsler and Theresa Nosie, participates in the Sunrise Ceremony at Oak Flat.
As for the religious freedom implications, Oak Flat has long been a spiritual place where the Apache gather for many sacred ceremonies, including the time-honored, coming-of-age ceremony for Apache girls performed at sunrise.
The Sunrise Ceremony is part of the Apache origin story involving the White Painted Woman, the first woman or “Virgin Mother of her people.” According to Apache legend, spirits guided her to create this ritual for all Apache girls to transition them into womanhood and become “keepers of the [Apache] way.”
The Apache are people of place, and without Oak Flat, many sacred Apache ceremonies, like the girls’ coming-of-age ceremony, could no longer be practiced because the Ga’an, the sacred beings living at Oak Flat who guide the ceremonies, will leave when their home is destroyed.
How First Nations has helped
Since 2018, First Nations has partnered with the Broad Reach Fund to help Native-led groups fight extractive efforts that negatively impact Native communities. To date, 42 grants have been awarded, including to Apache Stronghold.
Under the Stewarding Native Lands Program, First Nations has supported Apache Stronghold with many of its objectives ― and will continue to do so ― specifically with community education events, public awareness campaigns, and travel support ― like the 9,000-mile journey to Washington, D.C.
“First Nations’ support allows Apache Stronghold to continue to protect Oak Flat, including bringing the issue to the attention of a national and world audience,” explains Della Warrior, president and CEO of the MICA Group.
The First Nations grant helped Apache Stronghold spread the message to Arizona residents that the copper mine at Oak Flat would drain the drought-stricken state’s water supply.
The message around water seems to be a sweet spot. The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) reports that 63.4% of Arizona is in a drought. Any further drain on the water supply ― like the mining plan proposed by Resolution Copper ― is hitting a raw nerve with Arizona residents, and Gov. Katie Hobbs has made water protection a priority for her administration.
With help from First Nations, allies of Apache Stronghold have utilized different strategies, such as billboards in the Phoenix area, to inform residents that the copper mine will drastically decrease their available water.
And the message is working. Clicks on the Save Arizona Water website suggest that Arizona residents are beginning to wake up and oppose the mine.
Apache Stronghold hopes to continue the highly effective campaign and has also placed public awareness ads in several Arizona newspapers.
Every day without mining is a win
It is now a waiting game for Apache Stronghold, as the group stands by to hear if the Supreme Court will take up its case. The court should decide by year’s end or early January whether to hear the case, and if so, a decision is expected in June 2025.
“The Oak Flat religious freedom lawsuit has the potential to change U.S. law, which is currently unjust to Indigenous people because it does not protect land-based religions,” Nosie says. “The stakes are high. U.S. law must protect Indigenous sacred lands, not just for Apaches, but for all tribes.”
In the meantime, Apache Stronghold considers every day without mining at Oak Flat a win, as it fights a difficult battle against the U.S. government and two of the largest mining companies in the world.
Young Apache maidens stand ready for the time-honored coming-of-age celebration at Oak Flat known as the “Sunrise Ceremony.”
Each year, as more and more Apache girls participate in the beautiful, traditional coming-of-age ceremony, blessed by Apache deities and recognized by the whole community as leaders, the culture survives another year, and now that it’s been 20 years, another generation.
“I come to White Painted Woman,
By means of long life I come to her.
I come to her by means of her blessing.
I come to her by means of her good fortune.
I come to her by means of all her different fruits.
By means of the long life she bestows, I come to her.
By means of this holy truth.”
―Apache Sunrise Ceremony Song
