The U.S. Supreme Court has again delayed considering the petition by Apache Stronghold, a nonprofit community organization dedicated to defending holy sites and freedom of religion, to protect Oak Flat, known to the Apache as Chi’chil Biłdagoteel, from transferring the land and resources at Oak Flat to a private company, Resolution Copper.

Oak Flat is federally owned land in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest that contains a large copper deposit 7,000 feet below the surface. The Apache have gathered at Oak Flat for centuries to conduct religious ceremonies and pray. The site is also culturally significant to the O’odham and other tribes.

“Oak Flat is our spiritual lifeblood—like Mt. Sinai for Jews or Mecca for Muslims—the sacred place where generations of Apache have connected with our Creator,” said Dr. Wendsler Nosie Sr. of Apache Stronghold. “The government should protect Oak Flat just like it protects the sacred places of all other faiths in this country—not give it to a foreign-owned mining company for destruction.”

After an emergency appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2021, a Ninth Circuit refusal of protection for Oak Flat in June 2022 and the Ninth Circuit agreeing to rehear the case “en banc” in front of a larger panel of 11 judges, the Ninth Circuit decided to continue with the land transfer in a 5-4 vote.

After unsuccessfully asking all 29 judges on the Ninth Circuit to rehear the case, Apache Stronghold filed its appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on September 11 via a courier.

In a statement released on November 21, Apache Stronghold said that the Supreme Court was scheduled to have their petition considered at its conference on November 11, however the group received word that their petition had been rescheduled to the Court’s conference on December 6, likely hearing by December 9 whether the Court will take their case.

 That date passed, and so did the next date that the group said they were given; the court’s next conference on December 13.

By December 16, Apache Stronghold and their legal representatives had not received a notice from the court, and so they were told the court intends to consider it again at its next conference on January 10, or the court may take additional time for further consideration, the group said in a December 16 statement.

An excerpt from the statement shows a positive outlook on the outcome of the case:

“Either way, we take this as an encouraging sign that the Court is devoting extra time to our case and giving it careful examination. We ask all of our supporters to continue praying that the Justices will agree to hear our case and protect Oak Flat—just as the sacred places of other faiths have long been protected throughout the country. Thank you again for your support.”

This story is part of O’odham Action News’ ongoing coverage of Oak Flat.