DoomsdaysCW<p>Trump to approve land swap for Rio Tinto copper mine opposed by Native Americans</p><p>By Ernest Scheyder<br>April 18, 2025</p><p>- Forest Service to republish environmental report within 60 days<br>- Publication needed to approve land swap for Resolution project<br>- Native groups oppose project on religious grounds<br>- Related case still pending at Supreme Court</p><p>"The <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> administration said on Thursday it would approve a land swap needed for <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RioTinto" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RioTinto</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BHP" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BHP</span></a> to build one of the world's largest copper mines, despite concerns from Native Americans that it would destroy a site of religious value.<br>The move is likely to escalate tensions between Indigenous groups vocal about the need to preserve historical lands and Western governments eager to boost critical minerals production and offset China's sector dominance.</p><p>"The U.S. Forest Service, which is part of the Agriculture Department, said it will republish within 60 days an environmental report needed for the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ResolutionCopper" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ResolutionCopper</span></a> project land swap to occur.</p><p>"Congress and then-President <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BarackObama" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BarackObama</span></a> approved the mine in 2014 after it was added at the last minute to a must-pass military funding bill [<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NDAA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NDAA</span></a>] with the condition that an environmental report be published.</p><p>"The underground mine - which President Donald Trump approved in his first term before successor Joe Biden reversed him - would supply more than a quarter of U.S. appetite for copper and be a key part of Trump's plan to boost U.S. mining.</p><p>"Copper is used in construction, transportation, electronics and many other industries. The United States imports roughly half of its copper needs each year.</p><p>"Yet the mine's construction would cause a crater that would swallow the Oak Flat site where Arizona's San Carlos Apache worship. That has fueled strong opposition from all but one of the state's 22 Native American tribes, as well as the National Congress of American Indians.</p><p>"Apache Stronghold, a nonprofit group comprised of the San Carlos Apache Tribe and conservationists, asked the U.S. Supreme Court last September to block the land swap. The court has not yet decided whether to take that case.<br>Were the court to do so, however, the Forest Service said on Thursday it 'may reevaluate how to proceed' regarding the land swap.</p><p>" 'The U.S. government is rushing to give away our spiritual home before the courts can even rule, just like it's rushed to erase Native people for generations,' said <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WendslerNosie" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WendslerNosie</span></a>, an <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ApacheStronghold" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ApacheStronghold</span></a> leader."</p><p>Read more:<br><a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/trump-approve-land-swap-rio-tinto-copper-mine-opposed-by-native-americans-2025-04-18/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">reuters.com/sustainability/boa</span><span class="invisible">rds-policy-regulation/trump-approve-land-swap-rio-tinto-copper-mine-opposed-by-native-americans-2025-04-18/</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Apaches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Apaches</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WesternApaches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WesternApaches</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NativeAmericans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NativeAmericans</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SacredSite" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SacredSite</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ResolutionCopper" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ResolutionCopper</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SaveOakFlat" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SaveOakFlat</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ChichilBi%C5%82dagoteel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ChichilBiłdagoteel</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CorporateColonialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CorporateColonialism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProtectOakFlat" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ProtectOakFlat</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ReaderSupportedNews" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ReaderSupportedNews</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SCOTUS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SCOTUS</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DefendTheSacred" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DefendTheSacred</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CopperMine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CopperMine</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CulturalGenocide" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CulturalGenocide</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WesternApache" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WesternApache</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SacredSites" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SacredSites</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoMiningWithoutConsent" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NoMiningWithoutConsent</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RecycleCopper" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RecycleCopper</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TontoNationalForest" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TontoNationalForest</span></a></p>
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#westernapache
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DoomsdaysCW<p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Apaches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Apaches</span></a> ask lower court to stop government’s imminent transfer of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SacredSite" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SacredSite</span></a> </p><p>Becket Law, via <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CensoredNews" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CensoredNews</span></a>, April 25, 2025</p><p>There will be a Hearing May 7, 2025 @ 0930 @ Sandra Day O’Connor <br>U.S. Courthouse, 401 West Washington Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85003</p><p>WASHINGTON – "A coalition of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WesternApaches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WesternApaches</span></a>, other <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NativePeoples" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NativePeoples</span></a>, and non-Native <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/allies" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>allies</span></a> asked a federal court late yesterday to stop the U.S. government from handing over their sacred site at Oak Flat to a multinational mining giant as early as June 16, 2025.</p><p>"In <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ApacheStronghold" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ApacheStronghold</span></a> v. United States, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last year refused to stop the federal government from transferring <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OakFlat" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>OakFlat</span></a> to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ResolutionCopper" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ResolutionCopper</span></a>, a Chinese-owned mining company that plans to turn the site into a massive mining crater, ending Apache religious practices forever (Watch the short video linked below to learn more). </p><p>"The emergency appeal comes after the government announced last week it will forge ahead with the transfer even though the case is currently under consideration by the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/USSupremeCourt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>USSupremeCourt</span></a>."</p><p>Read more:<br><a href="https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/04/apaches-ask-lower-court-to-stop.html" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/04</span><span class="invisible">/apaches-ask-lower-court-to-stop.html</span></a></p><p>Video link:<br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh68xOn0B_8" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">youtube.com/watch?v=Zh68xOn0B_</span><span class="invisible">8</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SaveOakFlat" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SaveOakFlat</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ChichilBi%C5%82dagoteel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ChichilBiłdagoteel</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CorporateColonialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CorporateColonialism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProtectOakFlat" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ProtectOakFlat</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ReaderSupportedNews" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ReaderSupportedNews</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SCOTUS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SCOTUS</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DefendTheSacred" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DefendTheSacred</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CopperMine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CopperMine</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RioTinto" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RioTinto</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RecycleCopper" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RecycleCopper</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CulturalGenocide" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CulturalGenocide</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NDAA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NDAA</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WesternApache" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WesternApache</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SacredSites" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SacredSites</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoMiningWithoutConsent" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NoMiningWithoutConsent</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RecycleCopper" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RecycleCopper</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TontoNationalForest" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TontoNationalForest</span></a></p>
DoomsdaysCW<p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ApacheStronghold" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ApacheStronghold</span></a>: U.S. Give-Away would Destroy Spiritual Home of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Apache" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Apache</span></a><br> <br>By Wendsler Nosie, Apache Stronghold, March 13, 2025, via <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CensoredNews" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CensoredNews</span></a></p><p>"In the heart of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TontoNationalForest" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TontoNationalForest</span></a> in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Arizona" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Arizona</span></a> lies a place that my people, the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WesternApache" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WesternApache</span></a>, still hold above all others. This place is Chi'chil Biłdagoteel, also known as Oak Flat. To us, it is more than a stretch of land; it is sacred and holy. It is where our ancestors walked, where we gather to pray, to carry out ceremonies passed down through generations, and to speak to our Creator. </p><p>"This land is part of who we are as a people, and its spirit is bound to our own.<br>Now, the federal government plans to give our sacred Oak Flat to a multinational <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/mining" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>mining</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/corporation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>corporation</span></a> owned by the Chinese Communist Party. This will not just scar the land; it will destroy it, poisoning the environment and trampling on our tribal rights. But the deepest wound will be the loss of our spiritual home, a place our people cannot exist without. We are fighting this in the courts, all the way to the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/USSupremeCourt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>USSupremeCourt</span></a>. But this is about more than law and policy—this is about survival of our way of life and the spirit of this sacred land.</p><p><a href="https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/03/apache-stronghold-us-give-away-would.html" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/03</span><span class="invisible">/apache-stronghold-us-give-away-would.html</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SaveOakFlat" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SaveOakFlat</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ChichilBi%C5%82dagoteel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ChichilBiłdagoteel</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CorporateColonialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CorporateColonialism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProtectOakFlat" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ProtectOakFlat</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ReaderSupportedNews" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ReaderSupportedNews</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SCOTUS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SCOTUS</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DefendTheSacred" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DefendTheSacred</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CopperMine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CopperMine</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ResolutionCopper" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ResolutionCopper</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RioTinto" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RioTinto</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RecycleCopper" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RecycleCopper</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CulturalGenocide" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CulturalGenocide</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoMiningWithoutConsent" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NoMiningWithoutConsent</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RecycleCopper" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RecycleCopper</span></a></p>
DoomsdaysCW<p>Mennonites join <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ApacheStronghold" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ApacheStronghold</span></a> on <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PrayerJourney" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PrayerJourney</span></a> to Supreme Court</p><p>Anabaptist World<br>September 6, 2024</p><p>"<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Mennonite" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Mennonite</span></a> congregations and individuals from the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery are supporting Apache Stronghold’s two-month prayer journey across the United States to deliver their appeal directly to the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/USSupremeCourt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>USSupremeCourt</span></a>.</p><p>"The <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SanCarlosApache" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SanCarlosApache</span></a> and their allies argue that a land swap tucked into a defense spending bill that gave away their sacred location of Oak Flat to create a copper mine violates their religious freedom. The journey culminates Sept. 11 in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WashingtonDC" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WashingtonDC</span></a>.</p><p>"The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Apache Stronghold earlier this year in a 6-5 ruling. The group is represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which will petition the high court to hear the case.</p><p>"'Obliterating the birthplace of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WesternApache" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WesternApache</span></a> religion would be a tragic betrayal of our nation’s promise of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Religious" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Religious</span></a> Freedom for all,' said Luke Goodrich, Becket vice president and senior counsel. 'We will ask the Supreme Court to take this case, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProtectOakFlat" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ProtectOakFlat</span></a> and ensure that <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IndigenousPeoples" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>IndigenousPeoples</span></a> receive the same protection for religious freedom that all other faith groups enjoy.'</p><p>"Mennonites congregations involved in supporting the journey through prayer and hospitality included First Mennonite Church of San Francisco, Pasadena Mennonite Church in California, Shalom Mennonite Fellowship in Tucson, Ariz., Albuquerque Mennonite Church in New Mexico, Joy Mennonite Church in Oklahoma City, Raleigh Mennonite Church in North Carolina and Hyattsville Mennonite in Maryland. Acts of solidarity with the Apache ranged from preparing food to offering space to sleep to arranging public gatherings of prayer.</p><p>"'I asked myself: what does it mean to Dismantle the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DoctrineOfDiscovery" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DoctrineOfDiscovery</span></a>? I have learned that the Apache Stronghold is not just fighting for Oak Flat, but for <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MotherEarth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MotherEarth</span></a>, the greatest gift we have received. They are fighting for all of us,' said Frances Loberg, a member of Salem Mennonite Church in Oregon and the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery. She has been on the prayer journey for its full course. 'I am being healed as I have seen how Mother Earth is alive. We have seen the pain and struggles all across the country. This fight for mother earth is for all of us.'"</p><p>Read more:<br><a href="https://anabaptistworld.org/mennonites-join-apache-stronghold-on-prayer-journey-to-supreme-court/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">anabaptistworld.org/mennonites</span><span class="invisible">-join-apache-stronghold-on-prayer-journey-to-supreme-court/</span></a></p>
DoomsdaysCW<p>Opinion: Why the birthplace of the Western <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Apache" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Apache</span></a> religion shouldn’t be destroyed by a <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CopperMine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CopperMine</span></a> </p><p>by Luke Goodrich<br>February 6, 2024·</p><p>"A federal court is poised to decide whether a <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NativeAmerican" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NativeAmerican</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/sacred" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>sacred</span></a> site will be destroyed by a massive <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/copper" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>copper</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/mine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>mine</span></a>. Mining proponents claim that destroying the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SacredSite" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SacredSite</span></a> is necessary for the development of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GreenEnergy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>GreenEnergy</span></a>. That claim is both factually wrong and morally repugnant. And recent polling shows that the vast majority of Americans agree with what the constitution requires: <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Native" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Native</span></a> sacred sites deserve the same protection as all other houses of worship.</p><p>"Since before European contact, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WesternApache" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WesternApache</span></a> and other Native tribes have lived and honored their <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Creator" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Creator</span></a> at <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OakFlat" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>OakFlat</span></a>, or 'Chi’chil Bildagoteel.' The site is the birthplace of Western Apache religion and the site of ancient religious ceremonies that cannot take place anywhere else. Because of its religious and cultural significance, Oak Flat is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been protected from mining and other destructive practices for decades.</p><p>"That changed in 2014, when several members of Congress, supported by <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/corporate" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>corporate</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/mining" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>mining</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/lobbyists" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>lobbyists</span></a>, slipped an amendment into a must-pass defense bill authorizing the transfer of Oak Flat to a foreign-owned mining giant. That company, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ResolutionCopper" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ResolutionCopper</span></a>, announced plans to obliterate the sacred ground by swallowing it in a mining crater nearly two miles wide and 1,100-feet deep, ending Apache religious practices forever. That was no surprise given the company’s sordid history dealing with <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IndigenousPeoples" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>IndigenousPeoples</span></a>. The majority owner of Resolution Copper is <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RioTinto" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RioTinto</span></a> (the world’s second largest mining company), which sparked international outrage in 2020 when it destroyed a 46,000-year-old rock shelter with some of the most significant <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Aboriginal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Aboriginal</span></a> artifacts in all of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Australia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Australia</span></a>.</p><p>"The Apache and their allies, represented by my firm, the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BecketFundForReligiousLiberty" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BecketFundForReligiousLiberty</span></a>, have been fighting in court to ensure that such an atrocity won’t repeat itself at Oak Flat. After initial court rulings against the Apache, a full panel of 11 judges at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reheard their appeal last spring. A decision on whether the government can execute the land transfer is expected any day.</p><p>"Resolution Copper and its backers want the public to believe that building the mine is essential for developing <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/renewable" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>renewable</span></a> energy. Extracting the copper beneath Oak Flat, they say, will help to build batteries necessary for powering <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ElectricVehicles" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ElectricVehicles</span></a> and thus fight <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateChange" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateChange</span></a>. In other words, we have to destroy Oak Flat in order to save the planet.</p><p>"These claims, however, are false — and they are specifically designed to obscure the physical and cultural destruction the project would wreak on the land.</p><p>"The mine will destroy the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/environment" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>environment</span></a>, not save it. It is undisputed that the mine will swallow the ecologically diverse landscape of Oak Flat in a massive crater, decimating the local <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ecosystem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ecosystem</span></a>. It will also leave behind approximately 1.37 billion tons of '<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/tailings" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>tailings</span></a>,' or <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MiningWaste" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MiningWaste</span></a>, which, according to the government’s own environmental assessment, will pollute the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/groundwater" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>groundwater</span></a> and scar the landscape permanently. And the mine will consume vast quantities of water at the time it is most needed by drought-stricken towns and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/farmers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>farmers</span></a>.</p><p>"Supporters of the mine are also at odds with the majority of Americans. According to this year’s Religious Freedom Index, an annual survey conducted by Becket, 74% of Americans believe that Native sacred sites on federal land should be protected from mining projects, even when the projects are purportedly pro-jobs and pro-environment.</p><p>"That conclusion is both sensible and humane. America can transition to renewable energy without blasting the cradle of Western Apache religion into oblivion. And it should. For too long, our nation has made excuses for taking advantage of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IndigenousPeople" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>IndigenousPeople</span></a> and their land. Indeed, our nation drove the Western Apache off Oak Flat and surrounding lands in the 1800s precisely to make way for <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MiningInterests" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MiningInterests</span></a>. It shouldn’t repeat that <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/injustice" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>injustice</span></a> again.</p><p>"It is past time to protect Indigenous sacred sites from further destruction. Basic fairness and our constitutional commitment to religious freedom require no less. And, happily, most Americans agree."</p><p><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/opinion-why-birthplace-western-apache-200000087.html" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">news.yahoo.com/opinion-why-bir</span><span class="invisible">thplace-western-apache-200000087.html</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SaveOakFlat" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SaveOakFlat</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IndigenousActivism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>IndigenousActivism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CulturalGenocide" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CulturalGenocide</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalRacism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>EnvironmentalRacism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CorporateColonialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CorporateColonialism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CopperMining" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CopperMining</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a></p>
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