Apaches ask Supreme Court to block feds from selling sacred site to foreign mining firm

Western Apaches asked the Supreme Court Wednesday to halt the transfer of sacred land in Arizona to a foreign mining company.

In its legal filing, the Apache Stronghold, a group aiming to protect indigenous sites, asked the justices to take up its case over Oak Flat, a 6.7-square-mile location outside Superior, Arizona.

It’s been used for more than 1,000 years, according to the court filing, for religious ceremonies such as boys entering manhood, girls entering womanhood, blessings, healings, sweat lodge ceremonies and medical treatment through sacred plants.

Oak Flat has been treated as sacred, historic land under prior presidents.

In 1955 President Dwight Eisenhower reserved part of the site for “public purposes” and President Richard Nixon renewed that protection in 1971, according to the group’s petition. Oak Flat has been designated by the National Park Service as a historical place.

But in 2014, former Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake attached the land to a National Defense Authorization Act, which transferred it to Resolution Copper, an entity created by Rio Tina and BHP, two multinational companies. 

The interest in the site began in 1995 when copper was discovered.

Lower courts ruled against the Apaches, who argued that federal law and the Constitution’s protection of religious exercise should block the destruction of Oak Flat.

“Blasting the birthplace of Apache religion into oblivion would be an egregious violation of our nation’s promise of religious freedom for people of all faiths,” said Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, which is representing Apache Stronghold.

“The court should uphold its strong record of defending religious freedom by ensuring that the Apaches can continue worshiping at Oak Flat as they have for centuries.” 

It would take four justices to vote in favor of hearing the dispute for oral arguments to be scheduled during the court’s upcoming term, which begins in October.

The case is Apache Stronghold v. USA.

A spokesperson from Resolution Copper said the case doesn’t present an issue worthy of Supreme Court review.

“This case is about the government’s right to pursue national interests with its own land — an unremarkable and longstanding proposition that the Supreme Court and other courts have consistently reaffirmed,” the spokesperson said.

“The Resolution Copper project is vital to helping secure America’s energy future with a domestic supply of copper and other critical minerals. We are encouraged by the significant community support for the project, which will supply nearly one-quarter of America’s copper needs, add $1 billion a year to Arizona’s economy, and create thousands of local jobs in a region where mining has played an important role for more than a century. Our dialogue with local Native American tribes and communities will continue to shape the project, building on more than a decade of tribal and government consultation and collaboration.”