Apache Women Ask Supreme Court to Stop Copper Mine

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A group of Apache women is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and stop the transfer of federal forest land in Arizona to a pair of international mining companies. The land, which includes the sacred site of Oak Flat, has been used for centuries by the San Carlos Apache Tribe and other Native American tribes for religious ceremonies, prayer, and gathering medicinal plants. Despite the tribe's years-long legal battle to save the land, an appeals court ruled that the land transfer can proceed, recognizing the grave harms to Native religious practice.

Why it matters

This case raises critical issues about the environment, Native rights, and religious freedom. The transfer of this sacred land to international mining companies for copper extraction will fundamentally alter the landscape and destroy sites that are central to Apache and other tribes' cultural and spiritual practices.

The details

The federal government has conveyed the title to the land, which includes Oak Flat, to Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP. Resolution Copper plans to develop one of the largest copper deposits in North America, which the company says will generate $1 billion a year for Arizona's economy and create thousands of jobs. However, the San Carlos Apache Tribe and other plaintiffs have been fighting for years to save the land, which they call Chi'chil Bildagoteel and use for religious ceremonies, prayer, and gathering medicinal plants.

• The federal government conveyed the title to the land to Resolution Copper last week.
• An appeals court recently denied requests by the San Carlos Apache Tribe and environmentalists to block the land transfer.

What they’re saying

What’s next

The group of Apache women is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and stop the land transfer as a last-ditch effort to save Oak Flat and the surrounding federal forest land.