Opinion: Why the birthplace of the Western #Apache religion shouldn’t be destroyed by a #CopperMine
by Luke Goodrich
February 6, 2024·
"A federal court is poised to decide whether a #NativeAmerican#sacred site will be destroyed by a massive #copper#mine. Mining proponents claim that destroying the #SacredSite is necessary for the development of #GreenEnergy. 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: #Native sacred sites deserve the same protection as all other houses of worship.
"Since before European contact, #WesternApache and other Native tribes have lived and honored their #Creator at #OakFlat, 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.
"That changed in 2014, when several members of Congress, supported by #corporate#mining#lobbyists, slipped an amendment into a must-pass defense bill authorizing the transfer of Oak Flat to a foreign-owned mining giant. That company, #ResolutionCopper, 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 #IndigenousPeoples. The majority owner of Resolution Copper is #RioTinto (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 #Aboriginal artifacts in all of #Australia.
"The Apache and their allies, represented by my firm, the #BecketFundForReligiousLiberty, 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.
"Resolution Copper and its backers want the public to believe that building the mine is essential for developing #renewable energy. Extracting the copper beneath Oak Flat, they say, will help to build batteries necessary for powering #ElectricVehicles and thus fight #ClimateChange. In other words, we have to destroy Oak Flat in order to save the planet.
"These claims, however, are false — and they are specifically designed to obscure the physical and cultural destruction the project would wreak on the land.
"The mine will destroy the #environment, 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 #ecosystem. It will also leave behind approximately 1.37 billion tons of '#tailings,' or #MiningWaste, which, according to the government’s own environmental assessment, will pollute the #groundwater 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 #farmers.
"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.
"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 #IndigenousPeople and their land. Indeed, our nation drove the Western Apache off Oak Flat and surrounding lands in the 1800s precisely to make way for #MiningInterests. It shouldn’t repeat that #injustice again.
"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."
Tell U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and the Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names to work with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to replace every offensively titled place on Lakota Law’s Geographic Names Hall of Shame. You can customize your message and also recommend any other offensive place names of which you're aware!
**Devil’s Tower is an important place with deep significance to many #NativeNations. It’s highly inappropriate that this #SacredSite — so meaningful to the cultural histories and spiritual traditions of the first inhabitants of this land — should carry a name alluding to an evil originating from a book of non-Native spirituality. We recommend official adoption of its #Lakota name: Bear Lodge.
Many US pagans want to visit Stonehenge or other international pagan monuments, but I'm willing to bet that each state has at least one sacred site that is equivalent- a place where people gather for spiritual experiences, then and now. Whether natural or man-made, they inspire awe, and have the feeling of a space out-of-time.
I want to hear about your local sacred site! No parameters, I just wanna hear about special places around the US. It would be cool to collect one from every state.
Here in Michigan, there is a lake fed by a natural spring called ‘Kitchitikipi,’ the Mirror of Heaven. 40 ft deep with perfectly clear waters, you can take a raft out and see straight to the bottom, where the vents of the springs bubble up.
There are all kinds of local folk legends surrounding the lake. There's a tale about a young woman who sent her unwanted suitor to drown, and a story about how new parents would bring their baby to the spring to name it.
I make a visit every year. It's open all seasons because the waters never freeze, so winter is the best time to go to avoid the tourists.
THACKER PASS AND THE UGLY TRADITION OF EXTRACTION WITHOUT INDIGENOUS PERMISSION
By Tokata Iron Eyes
Peehee mu'huh (or #ThackerPass, as it’s known in English), a sensitive wilderness area located in what is now called #HumboldtCounty, #Nevada, sits on the ancestral homelands of the #Paiute and #Shoshone peoples. Right now, these lands are threatened by a #lithium mining project being developed by a company called #LithiumNevada, a subsidiary of #LithiumAmericasCorp .
Since its inception, the project has faced opposition from environmental and Indigenous groups. These concerns relate mainly to #water usage, potential impact on local #ecosystems, and the preservation of #CulturalSites. At the very heart of the Thacker Pass issue is the safety and protection of this place as a #SacredSite, a resting place of #Paiute and #Shoshone#ancestors who were #massacred.