This past Monday evening and Tuesday morning, EMU Earthkeepers club alongside staff, students, and family ran in protest of copper mining in Oak Flat, Arizona. Within this land is one of the country’s largest existing copper deposits alongside centuries of religious traditions, burial sites, and coming of age ceremonies sacred to the Apache people and other native American indigenous groups. However, Oak Flat holds not only cultural significance, but also major environmental significance. Alongside multiple indigenous groups, Oak Flat is also home to varying wildlife such as ocelots and endangered plant species.  Native groups also utilize the location’s resources for vital purposes, such as medicinal plants for healing. However, Oak Flat is currently under threat of a land swap that would repurpose the land for international mining, and therefore result in multiple ecological consequences. 

            The mine would use a modern technique which brings the ore 7,000 feet underground where the mountains would be—a more convenient method, but simultaneously more detrimental to the environment. This method would turn the site into a massive crater, resulting in excess toxic waste from the mine spreading vastly across the land, which would eventually make Oak Flat unsafe and uninhabitable for the people and wildlife currently inhabiting the area and relying on its resources.  With centuries of historical significance, mining on Oak Flat wouldn’t just be an environmental injustice: it would be cultural erasure. 

             Despite belonging to the Apache people through tradition, Oak Flat is not protected or bound by tribal boundaries. The land itself is legally overseen by United States Forest Services and therefore is in the hands of the government. With that being said, the biggest contribution we could make is by showing our support to representatives of the Apache group. The Apache Stronghold is an organization that has made it their mission to fight against destruction of Oak Flat since 2015, and is currently taking their mission to the 9th Circuit Federal Court to sue and appeal for reconsideration. Contact your congress members at azminingreform.org and encourage them to support the Apache Stronghold and Oak Flat. Add your name to the list of citizen co-sponsors of the appeal at act.standwithraul.com to show support, and consider donating! Research the history behind Oak Flat, and stand alongside our Native brothers and sisters during this time. 

The obliteration of Oak Flat means the obliteration of Apache tradition and freedom of religion. A victory for the Apache Stronghold would not only be a victory for Oak Flat: it would be a major step forward for religious freedom and expression everywhere. “Oak Flat is where my people have come to connect with their Creator for millennia,” said Dr. Wendsler Nosie, senior member of the Apache Stronghold. “And we have the right to continue that tradition.”