Apache Stronghold and the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery invite you to take action now to protect lands threated by an international mining company’s plans for a copper mine on Apache sacred land at Oak Flat (photo) in Arizona. Resolution Copper’s mining plan for Oak Flat relies on access to Arizona state trust land at Skunk Camp in Dripping Springs Valley to dump toxic tailings. This puts Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs in a position to stop it. The land at Skunk Camp is important in its own right, as sacred land to the Tohono O’odham Nation, in the Gila River watershed. Resolution Copper’s plan puts Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs in a position to stop the mine.

Please pray for Oak Flat, and reach out to Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs.

We are at a critical time in the fight to protect the sacred at Oak Flat.

Click through to see how to help.

Many of you have heard that on Friday, the Ninth Circuit again refused to stop the Government from giving Oak Flat to Resolution Copper for destruction. This is sad news. But we will never stop fighting to protect Oak Flat and each place that is sacred to our people. And we are still fighting—in the courts, in Congress, and, most importantly, spiritually.

In the courts, there are still four lawsuits seeking to protect Oak Flat. All four cases are still going. And any one of these cases could still put a stop to the Government’s and Resolution’s plans to destroy Oak Flat.

Click through to read the full statement.

In December, Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07) introduced her first piece of legislation in Congress - the Save Oak Flat from Foreign Mining Act. First introduced by her father in 2015, the landmark bill would repeal the 2014 controversial National Defense Authorization Act rider that handed over 2,422 acres of Arizona's Tonto National Forest, including the sacred site of Oak Flat (Chi'chil Biłdagoteel), to Resolution Copper, a foreign mining corporation.  

As Christians, we are called to care for all of Creation and to promote environmental justice. The Save Oak Flat From Mining Act protects a site of profound religious, cultural, historical, and environmental importance to Tribal Nations in Arizona and across the country. It also halts a mining project that would deplete Arizona's scarce water resources, create one of the largest toxic waste sites in North America, and transfer U.S. copper to a foreign mining venture with direct shareholder ties to the government of the People's Republic of China. 

Urge your Members of Congress to stand alongside the Apache people in calling for Oak Flat's preservation and protection. Take action here.

From AZ Poor People’s Campaign newsletter:

Earlier this month, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) released a Public Notice that it intends to issue an Individual Industrial Recycled Water Permit to Resolution Copper Mining. The permit would allow Resolution Copper to deliver water obtained from the dewatering of their mine facilities at Oak Flat and near Superior to the New Magma Irrigation and Drainage District (NMIDD) where it would be mixed with water coming from the Colorado River via the CAP canal and used for irrigation.

A 30-day public comment period is open, ending on April 7, 2024. No public hearing is currently scheduled.

Please write a letter to ADEQ to extend the comment period and to ask for a public hearing.

from Rev. Jennifer Hawks, Associate General Counsel, BJC - Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty:

Thank you for your continued support of the Save Oak Flat Act. I’m writing to share the next phase of our campaign: garnering grassroots support. We want to show Congress that support for this important legislation extends into our local networks.

BJC is launching an individual sign-on letter for the Save Oak Flat Act today. First, I invite you to sign the letter yourself. Second, and most importantly, I hope you will consider asking your constituents to add their names. The letter will remain open through the end of September and will be delivered to Congressional offices for Indigenous Peoples Day.