Native Organizers Alliance - Sign to defend public lands from toxic mining

 

Patricia, Here at Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund, we are working to hold the U.S. government accountable for honoring Native rights, including our right to self-determination and our sacred responsibility to protect Mother Earth as our ancestors have done. With Earth Day this week, now more than ever let’s defend Mother Earth by taking action for Oak Flat, the sacred place in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest. Despite clear and unified Tribal opposition, this sacred, ecologically important land has just been transferred to Resolution Copper, a foreign-owned mining corporation. While we can’t stop that land transfer, the fight is not over. We still have other steps to take to stop the toxic mining project before it permanently destroys Oak Flat, turning it into a massive crater. Together, we recently directed 17,000 messages to Arizona’s leaders, urging them to refuse to give protected state lands to Resolution Copper -- lands that are needed for a planned toxic waste dump, which would pollute and use up precious water in the drought-prone desert area. Still this fight isn’t over: Now we must pressure Congress. U.S. Representative Adelita Grijalva recently introduced urgently needed legislation to protect the public lands right next to Oak Flat. The Preserve the Traditional Cultural Place Chí’chil Biłdagoteel Historic District Act would prohibit mining-related activities such as toxic waste pipelines and infrastructure, road development, and rights-of-way. It would also require government-to-government consultations and agreements with Tribal Nations to protect and preserve sacred and irreplaceable cultural areas. Please defend our public lands from toxic mining, and stand up for environmental justice, Mother Earth, and Tribal sovereignty. Sign and send a quick message to your members of Congress to cosponsor Rep. Grijalva's new legislation to protect Oak Flat now. SIGN AND SEND Rep. Adelita Grijalva continues the legacy of her father, the late Raúl Grijalva, in the fight for environmental justice and Tribal sovereignty. Leader of the Apache Stronghold coalition Dr. Wendsler Nosie Sr. said: “This bill is an important part of the fight to protect Oak Flat” and “This is not just land—it is a sacred place where our ancestors prayed, where our ceremonies continue, and where our identity is rooted.” The newly introduced policy directs the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to preserve the natural condition of public lands in the Chí’chil Biłdagoteel Historical District, which are right next to Oak Flat. If passed, it would also require the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to work with Tribes that have ties to this historical district -- including government-to-government consultations and agreements with Tribal Nations to ensure continued access to sacred and cultural spaces, so they can keep engaging in traditional activities as their ancestors have since time immemorial. Protecting adjacent lands could stop the mine itself, because Resolution Copper is counting on exploiting surrounding lands as well. The corporate polluter has proposed mining-related infrastructure throughout Tonto National Forest, including: a 19.6-mile pipeline corridor to slurry 1.37 billion tons of toxic waste to a dump site a 3.6-mile high voltage power line corridor and a 16.9-mile power line to power the toxic waste dump converting national forest service roads to commercial use while building new roads to service the pipelines and power lines Please take a minute to tell your Members of Congress: Protect sacred Oak Flat! ACT NOW Ahéhee' (thank you in Navajo) for defending Mother Earth and sovereignty. Time and time again, the lands we all cherish have been developed, destroyed, and polluted for corporate profit. But we’ve won protections before, including through transformational Tribal-federal co-management agreements that ensure sustainable land and water management for generations to come. Together, our communities will continue to organize, and we will keep protecting sacred places and the natural world that we all depend on. Native peoples carry this responsibility from our ancestors and for generations to come. Tremayne Nez (Navajo) Policy Director POWER OUR MOVEMENT

Sent via ActionNetwork.org. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund, please click here.