Oak Flat Is a Special Place for People of Different Faiths, Not Just the Apache
On an early and breezy Fall morning, about 150 people of different faiths and backgrounds from all over the country gather at the campground of Oak Flat, near Superior, Arizona, to join a prayer to save a sacred land in the American West: Chi'chil Biłdagoteel known widely as Oak Flat.
Since time immemorial, the Apache San Carlos Tribe and other Indigenous peoples in the region have come to this holy site to pray, perform ceremonies (including the Sunrise and Holy Ground ceremonies), collect medicinal plants, gather acorns and other foods, and honor those that are buried there.
For Native Americans in the region, Oak Flat is a sacred place created by Usen, their Creator, and where Ga'an -the messengers or guardians- live.
Their cultural and spiritual connection to this land is profound.
In the 1950s, President Dwight D. Eisenhower protected Oak Flat from mining. This federally-protected area in the Tonto National Forest is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a Traditional Cultural Property (TCP).
However, this sacred place is now at risk of being destroyed by Resolution Copper, a joint venture owned by mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP, which wants to develop the largest copper mine in North America.
"We're all in this together when it comes to the religion because the religion is being under attack. This is not an Apache fight. It's a fight for religion. It's a fight for the spirit," says Dr. Wendsler Nosie Sr., leader of the Apache Stronghold.
Native Americans sued the U.S. government for the land transfer to Resolution Copper.
The Apache Stronghold has been fighting the federal government and sued it over a land transfer of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper for violating Native Americans' religious rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is considering this case.
"If the U.S. government can openly deny this and try to disprove our religion, then they can easily do it to all religions here in America. This is our church here being connected with Mother Earth and Father Sky," says Morgan Frejo, a member of the Apache Stronghold.
Oak Flat is not only a special site for the Native Americans. People of different religions have found in the beauty and peace of Oak Flat a place and a way to connect to their faith.
"Oak Flat is not only sacred for the Apache. But it's sacred for all of us. As a Christian, I try to follow a preacher who preached on the mountain and in the plain, who went out in the wilderness to be baptized in the river, who had the kind of relationship with the local lake that he walked through those turbulent waters. As I try to follow that one, I need to reconnect to the sacred in the land, or I'm lost my faith," says Reverend Carol Rose, co-pastor of Shalom Mennonite Fellowship.
This place is also deeply significant for people who still live or grew up in Superior, Arizona, just 10 minutes away from Oak Flat campground.
"It is so peaceful here. There are a lot of outdoor activities to do. When I was a child, my family came to Oak Flat all the time. I have so many great memories of being in this place. We have my cousin's ashes just up there. This land is sacred, and we use the land," says Sylvia Delgado Barrett, a former miner whose family - including mother, siblings, children, and grandchildren- still live in Superior.
The impact of Resolution Copper's mining project on the water supply is a big concern for various groups and people.
The proposed mine will also exhaust about 250 billion gallons of water from the limited and precious water resources in an area already suffering from exceptional drought. Several studies, including a technical report issued in 2022 by the Bureau of Land Management, confirm the tremendous and irreversible damage that this mine could cause to the water supply and vital aquifers.
"Our water is one of our most precious resources, especially in Arizona. This mining project represents a great danger to different watersheds and everybody," says Amy Juan, a member of the Tohono Oʼodham Nation. "I have been coming up north and visited the places that are being threatened by this foreign mining company, including the area where mining tailings are supposed to be, which is a valley watershed between Oak Flat and Tucson and the Tohono Oʼodham Nation territory."
While the efforts continue to protect Oak Flat from this foreign mining company that would do not good for the environment and the people, Native Americans with ties to this sacred land call on people to support them to save Chi'chil Biłdagoteel once and for all.
"To deny us that human right of prayer, which has been passed down since time immemorial, it's an injustice," says Frejo. "I think of my 3-year-old daughter, who might need to be prepared to pick up the fight. I hope her children don't have to fight, but it is where we are today."