A federal judge will hear arguments today from a group of Apaches who fought a proposed copper mine in eastern Arizona. Apache Stronghold recently sued the U.S. Forest Service for trying to prevent the agency from handing over a piece of land to Resolution Copper, a joint venture of global mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP.
The group asks for an order until a judge can finally determine who has rights to the land and whether mining could infringe on Apache’s religious practices. The Forest Service says it is doing what Congress has ordered.
Felicia Fonseca reports to the Associated Press that Apache Stronghold claims that the country belongs to Western Apaches under a 1852 treaty with the United States. John Welch, a professor and anthropologist who worked extensively with 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 U.S. Senate was Karl Jacoby, a professor of history at Columbia University, who wrote about the treaty, said. not related to the lawsuit.
The treaty was intended as a peace treaty at a time when the United States had acquired territory from Mexico. This suggests that Apaches has the right to their territory, but it does not spell out the territory, Jacoby said.
What has happened recently is that indigenous peoples are dusting off these treaties and saying, ‘Look, you have made this treaty, you can not just walk away from it. You must respect it, it is in your constitution, ‘which is the highest law of the land’, he said.
Forest Service attorneys said Apache Stronghold could not claim ownership rights because it is not a federal tribe. Even then, the country is not trusted with any Apache tribe.
In court documents, the agency said it did not dispute the sincerity of the religious and historical connection Apaches had with the land known as Oak Flat. “Congress has decided that this land exchange should continue, and any construction, mining or land disturbance on the site is not at hand,” lawyers for the agency wrote.
Apaches call the mountainous area Chi’chil Bildagoteel. It has ancient oak trees, traditional plants and living creatures that according to tribal members are essential to their religion and culture. These things exist elsewhere, but Apache Stronghold says it has unique power in Oak Flat.
The site is also popular for camping, hiking and rock climbing. Resolution Copper says it will keep the campsite open to the public as long as it is safe, but eventually the area will be engulfed by the mine.
Apaches camped there protesting. Former San Carlos Apache chairman Wendsler Nosie Sr., who leads Apache Stronghold and who previously argued in Washington DC over the issue, has also moved to the site.
The Society for American Archeology said the area is of great archaeological interest within the American Southwest.