A federal judge will hear arguments today from a group of Apaches who have been fighting a proposed copper mine in eastern Arizona. Apache Stronghold recently sued the U.S. Forest Service for trying to prevent the agency from ceding a plot of land to Resolution Copper, a joint venture of global mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP.
The group seeks a court order until a judge can ultimately determine who has rights to this land and whether mining would violate the religious practices of the Apaches. The Forest Service says it is doing what Congress ordered.
Felicia Fonseca reports to the Associated Press that Apache Stronghold maintains that the land belongs to the Western Apaches under an 1852 treaty with the United States. John Welch, a professor and anthropologist who has worked extensively with the Apache tribes, says he has found no evidence to suggest otherwise.
The so-called Santa Fe Treaty was one of the few treaties negotiated with a broad group of Apaches and the only one ratified by the U.S. Senate, said Karl Jacoby, a professor of history at Columbia University who has written about the treaty and not Not connected to demand.
The treaty was meant as a peace agreement at a time when the US was acquiring territory from Mexico. He suggests Apaches are entitled to their territory, but does not explain that territory, Jacoby said.
“What’s happening lately is that the natives have been dusting off these treaties and saying,‘ Look, you’ve made this treaty, you can’t walk away from it. You have to honor it, it is in your constitution, which is the supreme law of the country “, he said.
Forest Service attorneys said Apache Stronghold cannot assert property rights because it is not a federally recognized tribe. Even then, the land is not trusted by any Apache tribe.
In court documents, the agency said it does not question the sincerity of the Apaches’ historical and religious connection to the land known as Oak Flat. “Congress has decided that this land exchange should go ahead and any construction, mining or alteration of the site to the site is not imminent,” the agency’s lawyers wrote.
The Apaches call the mountainous area Chi’chil Bildagoteel. It has ancient oaks, traditional plants and living things that members of the tribe say are essential to their religion and culture. These things exist elsewhere, but Apache Stronghold says they have a unique power within Oak Flat.
The place is also popular for camping, hiking and rock climbing. Resolution Copper says it will keep the campsite open to the public as long as it is safe, but eventually the area would be swallowed up by the mine.
The Apaches have camped in protest. Former San Carlos Apache president Wendsler Nosie Sr., who runs Apache Stronghold and has previously protested in Washington DC over the issue, has also moved to the site.
The Society for American Archeology has said the area is of great archaeological importance within the southwestern United States.