Apache Stronghold takes Oak Flat fight to Supreme Court

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From Kaili Mountain

12 September 2024

Apache Stronghold, a Native American advocacy group, has filed a final legal petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to block the development of one of the world's largest copper mines on sacred land in Arizona.

The group, which represents the San Carlos Apache tribe, has long opposed efforts by mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP to gain access to Oak Flat, known to the Apache as Chi'chil Biłdagoteel, arguing that the project would destroy an important religious site.

Chi'chil Biłdagoteel, or Oak Flat, is a state-owned piece of land in Arizona that has long held deep spiritual significance for the San Carlos Apache and other tribes.

However, Oak Flat is also home to vast copper reserves estimated at over 40 billion pounds of the metal. Copper is a critical raw material for manufacturing electric vehicles and electronics, making the country a prime destination for mining as part of the global transition to renewable energy.

If a mine were to be built, the site would turn into a crater three kilometres wide and 330 metres deep, destroying the sacred site and its ecological value.

The conflict over Oak Flat began in 2014 when Congress under President Barack Obama approved a land swap agreement that would have allowed the federal government to transfer Oak Flat to Rio Tinto and BHP in exchange for other land.

The deal quickly sparked a backlash from Apache Stronghold, which argued that the mining project would desecrate a sacred Apache place of worship.

By 2015, the group had filed lawsuits and organized protests to raise awareness of Oak Flat's cultural and religious significance. The case attracted national attention as it became a focal point of the broader debate about Indigenous land rights and environmental justice.

When President Joe Biden took office in 2021, he temporarily froze the land swaps. However, the Biden administration's Justice Department later argued in court that the federal government had the right to dispose of their lands for national purposes, even if it interfered with religious practices.

The situation took a significant turn in March 2024, when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the mining companies and allowed the land swap to proceed. Apache Stronghold vowed to continue its fight and take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In September 2024, Apache Stronghold filed its appeal with the Supreme Court after a months-long caravan from their reservation in Arizona to Washington, D.C. The group then held a prayer and dance ceremony on the steps of the Supreme Court.

For Apache Stronghold's appeal to proceed, at least four Supreme Court justices must agree to hear the case. If the court agrees, oral arguments could begin as early as the next term, which begins in October 2024, and a decision could potentially come by June 2025.

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Author: Kaili MountainE-mail: This email address is protected from spambots. JavaScript must be enabled to view it!

Employee Reporter

Kaili Berg (Aleut) is a member of the Alutiiq/Sugpiaq Nation and a shareholder in Koniag, Inc. She is a staff reporter for Native News Online and Tribal Business News. Berg, who lives in Wisconsin, previously reported for the Ho-Chunk Nation's Hocak Worak newspaper. She originally studied nursing but changed her major after discovering her passion for communications at Western Technical College in Lacrosse, Wisconsin.