In this whirlwind of a political climate under the Trump administration, if you blink, you might miss something big.

That is the case with news pertaining to Oak Flat (Chi’chil Bildagoteel in Apache); the 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.

Chinese majority-owned mining company Resolution Copper is waiting in the wings, hoping to begin drilling into Oak Flat in a land exchange agreement with the federal government. 501(c)3 nonprofit community organization Apache Stronghold filed a lawsuit against the federal government in 2021 seeking to halt the proposed mine at Oak Flat and has been in courtroom battles since.

On April 17, the feds announced it would forge forth with turning the site into a massive crater, even though the case was under consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to Becket Law, who represents Apache Stronghold. The handoff would happen as early as June 16.

On its last breath, the outcome of the lawsuit was up to the Supreme Court to review. 

The Supreme Court announced May 27 that it would not hear the case. Justice Neil Gorsuch, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, dissented from the denial.

“Apache Stronghold asks us to review the Ninth Circuit’s extraordinary conclusion. But the Court today turns aside the group’s request. Respectfully, that is a grave mistake,” said Gorsuch. “Before allowing the government to destroy the Apaches’ sacred site, this Court should at least have troubled itself to hear their case.”

In a matter of weeks, from April to May, the federal government: charged ahead with a plan to destroy Oak Flat, Apache Stronghold made an emergency appeal to save Oak Flat, the feds announced it will publish a final environmental impact statement, and a federal court blocked the U.S. government from handing over Oak Flat to Resolution Copper. 

Apache Stronghold’s emergency motion landed them a court date on May 7 before Judge Steven P. Logan, in the Sandra Day O’Connor United States Courthouse in Phoenix. 

Judge Logan concluded, “There is no close question in this matter. It is abundantly clear that the balance of equities ‘tips sharply’ in Plaintiff’s favor, and … they have presented serious questions on the merits that warrant the Supreme Court’s careful scrutiny.”

“The federal government and Resolution Copper have put Oak Flat on death row—they are racing to destroy our spiritual lifeblood and erase our religious traditions forever,” said Wendsler Nosie Sr. of Apache Stronghold. 

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