Native Organizers Alliance ● Sign to save Oak Flat from greedy mining corporation

 

Patricia, Alongside the Apache people and other Tribes, we’ve fought for years to stop a proposed mine that would permanently destroy the sacred Oak Flat (Chí’chil Biłdagoteel) in Arizona. But last month, the U.S. federal government transferred this public land to a mining corporation that plans to collapse this holy place into a 2-mile-wide crater. This would forever sever Western Apache peoples’ vital religious ceremonies, including women’s coming-of-age ceremonies and healing practices, and gathering of traditional plants and medicines. Our fight is not over: Resolution Copper still needs to acquire more than 8,000 acres of Arizona state trust land to store about 1.4 billion tons of toxic mining waste. We can stop this. All sales and commercial leases of Arizona state trust land must be reviewed and approved by the Arizona State Land Department. Will you stand up for Tribal sovereignty and sacred Oak Flat by demanding Arizona state leaders block this mining corporation from building a toxic waste facility on state trust land? SIGN THE PETITION NOW Protecting Oak Flat is about protecting Tribal cultural and spiritual practices and sovereignty, as well as protecting Mother Earth and all living beings who depend on her. Western Apache people depend on Oak Flat, where sacred generational ceremonies happen and a direct connection to their ancestors is held. This can’t happen anywhere else. Destroying the land would destroy this cultural continuity and connection to the land since time immemorial -- all for corporate profit. Dr. Wendsler Nosie of Apache Stronghold said last year that, “To destroy Oak Flat would erase our Native identity, our culture, and our connection to the Creator in ways that are permanent and irreversible.” He also explained: “Destroying Oak Flat would also irreversibly harm the environment. Resolution Copper’s mine would drain vast amounts of water, poison the surrounding ecosystem, and leave behind over a billion tons of toxic waste.” The mining corporation Resolution Copper has a long history of contaminating the environment near its mines and destroying important heritage sites in other countries. Resolution Copper has no incentive to provide the constant monitoring in perpetuity that’s needed to protect people from the toxic waste site that’s planned for Arizona state trust land. Please sign on to demand Arizona state leaders refuse to give state trust land to the mining corporation that’s planning to destroy Oak Flat. Hawwih (“thank you” in Caddo) for defending Mother Earth and Tribes’ sovereign right to make decisions about their sacred and ancestral lands. Judith LeBlanc (Caddo) Executive Director POWER OUR MOVEMENT

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