Apache women seek court intervention as federal land is turned over for copper mining

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: AP

Updated 11:52 PM EDT, March 16, 2026


The transfer of federal forest land in Arizona to a pair of international companies that plan to mine one of the largest copper deposits in North America is complete, but a group of Apache women is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene as a last-ditch effort to stop the project.

The title to the land was conveyed by the federal government to Resolution Copper on Friday after an appeals court denied requests by the San Carlos Apache Tribe and environmentalists seeking to block the move. The appeals court determined that the plaintiffs’ legal claims likely would not succeed and lifted an emergency injunction that was put in place last summer.

The land includes Oak Flat — an area used for centuries for religious ceremonies, prayer and gathering of medicinal plants by the San Carlos Apache people and other Native American tribes. The tribe, the activist group Apache Stronghold and other plaintiffs have been fighting for years to save what tribal members call Chi’chil Bildagoteel.

The appeals court in Friday’s ruling recognized that the land transfer will fundamentally alter the nature of the land and lead to the destruction of sites sacred to the tribe and other plaintiffs.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/arizona-oak-flat-copper-mining-apache-024697a87552094c70abf8afa0ed8241

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REFERENCES

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142643121
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142996443
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143202520
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143240711
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143513643
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143515735

[Deuxcents]

1. So..the appeals court determined the tribes didn't have a chance to win so the court made sure of it.

Even acknowledging that mining these precious lands will alter the landscape and the people that have lived there.

[Bayard]

2. Apparently, this slipped by in a, "must-pass national defense spending bill,"

That Obama signed. Tragic for this tribe, not only for their religious beliefs, but risk of their water being contaminated.

“The fight for Oak Flat raises critical issues about the environment and our nation’s commitment to Native rights and religious freedom,” Nosie said. “But at its heart, it is a battle for our sacred and holy land, the faith that has always been defined by it, and the right to have our religious traditions respected and protected.”

[Farmer-Rick]

3. Filthy-rich foreigners are going to make big bucks

How dare San Carlos Apache Tribe try to interfere with the corporation's immortal right to make money off of what other people owned.

You know who the scum are that are trying to steal the land? Rio Tinto Group a British-Australian multinational mining company headquartered in London, England, and Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1873 when a group of British investors purchased a mine complex on the Río Tinto, in Huelva, Spain, from the Spanish government.

Well look at that, the US always willing to ignore indigenous people's treaties, because you know the treaties are old, are carefully enforcing a 150+ year old corporations' charter from foreign countries.

You know who else is making money off their foreign money through the shield of a corporation by robbing Americans?

BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria.

So we are letting ancient, immortal corporation shields to make money off the theft of land from real Americans. This is what Capitalism is all about.

Capitalism you were designed by the devil. Free trade for the filthy-rich but open season to be robbed for the rest of us.

[patphil]

4. Open pit copper mines have a history of being major polluters of the water, and soil.

The impact goes way beyond the open pit itself. Runoff from rain gets into streams and rivers and carries toxic chemicals long distances, poisoning the land they flow through.

[Vinca]

5. Guess we can all guess the Supreme Court decision.