A federal judge will hear arguments today from a group of Apaches who are fighting a copper mine in eastern Arizona. Apache Stronghold recently sued the United States Forest Service to try to stop the agency from handing over land to Resolution Copper, a joint venture of global mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP.
The group is seeking an injunction until a judge can determine who has rights over that land and whether mining violates Apaches’ religious practices. The Forest Service says it is doing what Congress ordered.
Felicia Fonseca reports to the Associated Press that the Apache Fortress claims 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 found no evidence to suggest otherwise.
The so-called Santa Fe Treaty was one of a handful of treaties negotiated with a broad group of Apaches, and the only one ratified by the United States Senate, said Karl Jacoby, a professor of history at Columbia University who wrote about the treaty and is not connected to the process.
The treaty was intended to be a peace agreement at a time when the US was acquiring territory from Mexico. This suggests that Apaches are entitled to their territory, but it does not specify that territory, said Jacoby.
“What has happened recently is that the natives are dusting off these treaties and saying, ‘Look, you made this treatise, you can’t just run away from it. You have to honor it, it’s in your constitution, ‘which is the country’s supreme law, ”he said.
Forest Service attorneys said the Apache Fortress cannot claim property rights because it is not a federally recognized tribe. Even so, the land is not in the custody of any Apache tribe.
In court documents, the agency said it did not question the sincerity of the religious and historical connection that the Apaches have with the land known as Oak Flat. “Congress decided that this exchange of land should continue and any construction, mining or soil disturbance at the site is not imminent,” wrote the agency’s lawyers.
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 Fortress says that they have a unique power within Oak Flat.
The place is also popular for camping, hiking and climbing. Resolution Copper says it will keep the camp open to the public as long as it is safe, but eventually the area will be swallowed up by the mine.
Apaches camped there in protest. Former San Carlos Apache president Wendsler Nosie Sr., who heads Apache Stronghold and has previously protested in Washington DC on the issue, has also moved to the site.
The Society for American Archeology said the area is of great archaeological importance in the southwestern United States.