Apache women seek Supreme Court intervention over Oak Flat land transfer

A group of Apache women is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene after federal forest land in Arizona was transferred to Resolution Copper for a planned mining project, according to the Associated Press. The transfer was completed after an appeals court denied requests by the San Carlos Apache Tribe and environmentalists to block the move, ruling their legal claims likely would not succeed and lifting an emergency injunction.

The land includes Oak Flat, known to the San Carlos Apache people as Chi’chil Bildagoteel, which is used for religious ceremonies, prayer and gathering medicinal plants. The court acknowledged the transfer will fundamentally alter the land and lead to the destruction of sacred sites but stated that Congress authorized the exchange. Apache Stronghold and other plaintiffs have opposed the project for years as Resolution Copper and federal officials say it will support domestic mineral production.