Agency Over Actus Reus: Protect Oak Flat
The blog was written by HSP employee Alyssa Ondarza
Who and What is Oak Flat?
Chí’chil Biłdagoteel loosely translated to “Oak Flat” in English is a part of the ancestral homelands of the Apache, Yavapai, Hopi, Zuni, and many other Nations in the Southwest. Qualified as a Traditional Cultural Property it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. It is a site of religious and cultural ceremonies, a burial ground, and a sacred space for tribal members to source medicinal plants, food, and water. The Apache People see the land as sacred and alive and have been caring for and communing with Chí’chil Biłdagoteel for centuries.
The bottom line is that, here, Nations practice their religious and spiritual freedoms and have been doing so for hundreds of years.
The Threat to Oak Flat
In 2014, the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act authorized the transfer of over 2,400 acres of Tonto National Forest land to Resolution Copper, threatening the preservation of one of the Apache People’s holiest sites (Krol, 2021.) Chairman Terry Rambler of the San Carlos Apache Tribe writes:
“The federal government […] diminished the size of our Reservation several times to enrich others due to the discovery of minerals and natural resources. Our burial sites, living areas and farmlands were flooded to create Roosevelt Lake, which provided water essential to Arizona’s subsequent economic development. Our children were stolen from our homes and sent to boarding schools designed to destroy our language, culture and religion. Many never returned home.”
The result of Resolution Copper’s mining would devastate the land and pollute many remaining cultural resources for the Apache and surrounding Nations. Though Resolution has previously stated that its block cave mining method is “safe, environmentally sound and cost-effective” it has also admitted, alongside the Forest Service, that Oak Flat would inevitably sink leaving behind a crater roughly 2 miles in diameter and up to 1,000 feet deep. Additionally, even though Resolution claims on its Myth and Facts page that there will be minimal water pollution — all of which outside of the most sacred sites within Oak Flat — its study mandated by the National Environmental Protection Act reveals that ground and surface waters would indeed be impacted in these very areas.
Resolution uses language such as “revegetation” and “mineral development” to imply restorative efforts, but what that actually means is the loss of ancient and culturally significant vegetation and trees. Efforts to dig up and replant the oak trees of Chí’chil Biłdagoteel somewhere else are insulting and benign. The Emery Oak tree is sacred to residents and surrounding Nations. They know that cutting and replanting the trees pose the threat of replanting the wrong trees or destroying them altogether. Furthermore, the site holds sacred cultural significance because of the acorn-bearing trees. The holiness, just like the land itself, is fixed and immovable. Displacing the trees in a scheme to pacify the Nations is as moot a point as destroying the Vatican — a younger church than that of Oak Flat — and rebuilding it somewhere else.
In all, the desecration of the ancient sacred lands of Chí’chil Biłdagoteel is a violation of religious freedom and cultural agency in the pursuit of temporary financial gain.
How Do We Respond?
HSP has partnered with BJC in their National effort to save Oak Flat. You can read more from BJC here or sign the form here.
Only Congress can permanently save Oak Flat, Contact your member of Congress and ask that they support the Save Oak Flat Act (H.R. 1884/S.915).
Here’s a sample script:
Hello, my name is [Name]. I am a constituent and am calling to ask Representative/Senator [Name] to co-sponsor the Save Oak Flat Act. Oak Flat is an ancient sacred site for the Apache and several other tribes in the Southwest. The federal government is giving the land to a foreign mining operation that will totally destroy this holy ground. Oak Flat’s sacredness is not lessened because their tradition does not build a steeple to mark it. Will Rep./Sen. [Name] co-sponsor the Save Oak Flat Act?
If you live in RVA then contact Donald McEachin, Abigail Davis, Mark Warner, and Tim Kaine.
Highland Support Project is also Sponsoring a Rally in The Alley for Oak Flat. Check out the event and RSVP!
Resources
Byrd, D. (2021, March 4). Agriculture department issues temporary reprieve for sacred Apache land after federal court rejected Tribe’s religious freedom claim. BJC. https://bjconline.org/temporary-reprieve-for-sacred-apache-land-030421/
Byrd, D. (2021, July 22). BJC-led coalition urges president Biden to protect sacred oak flat from devastating mining operations. BJC. https://bjconline.org/bjc-led-coalition-urges-biden-to-protect-sacred-oak-flat-072221/
Krol, D. U. (2021, August 18). Oak flat: A place of prayer faces obliteration by a copper mine. azcentral.com. https://www.azcentral.com/in-depth/news/local/arizona/2021/08/18/oak-flat-apache-sacred-resolution-copper-mine/7903887002/
Krol, D. U., & The Arizona Republic. (2021, March 1). Feds withdraw environmental impact statement, delaying oak flat land swap. Arizona Republic. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2021/03/01/forest-service-delays-oak-flat-land-swap-copper-mine-plan/6875101002/
Myths and facts. (2022, March 9). Resolution Copper. https://resolutioncopper.com/myth-and-facts/
Rambler, T. (2021, July 12). Save our church from destruction. Medium. https://bjconthehill.medium.com/save-our-church-from-destruction-351dcc6aa671