Demand Arizona state leaders protect sacred Oak Flat and Tribal sovereignty

We must protect Oak Flat (Chí’chil Biłdagoteel), a deeply sacred place on federal land.  

The U.S. federal government transferred this land to a mining corporation last month, which plans to destroy Oak Flat with a planned mine that would destroy this sacred place, collapsing it into a two-mile-long crater.

Dr. Wendsler Nosie Sr., former Tribal Chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe and an advocate with Apache Stronghold, said last year that: “To destroy Oak Flat would erase our Native identity, our culture, and our connection to the Creator… [and] 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.”

But the fight isn’t over.

Before constructing the mine, the corporation Resolution Copper needs access to over 8,000 acres of nearby Arizona state trust land to build a facility that would store about 1.4 billion tons of toxic mining waste.

This toxic waste dump would require maintenance and monitoring in perpetuity, but Resolution Copper -- which has a long history of contaminating the environment near its mines -- won’t do that.

Now it’s up to Arizona state leaders, including the Arizona State Land Department, to decide whether Resolution Copper can access state trust land.

Please add your name now to demand Arizona state leaders take the next step to protect Oak Flat, by denying the mining corporation access to state trust land to dump toxic waste.

Petition to Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, Attorney General Kris Mayes, and State Land Commissioner Robyn Sahid:

Please deny Resolution Copper’s applications to purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire Arizona state trust land for the construction of a massive toxic mining waste storage facility.

Resolution Copper plans to build a mine that would destroy Oak Flat, a deeply sacred place for Tribes including the Western Apache, in order to export copper without benefitting Arizonans. The mine will lower nearby water tables by 200 feet, jeopardizing drinking water and housing developments in addition to natural ecosystems.

The mining corporation also wants to dump 1.4 billion tons of toxic mining waste on over 8,000 acres of state trust land, which would devalue the land and undermine residential housing, public schools, and other services -- while also risking toxic contamination of the Gila River watershed and local communities. State water resources are already under threat, and this could not only deplete but poison those resources.

If created, this waste dump would be one of the largest waste storage facilities in the world, which would need to be maintained and monitored in perpetuity for Arizonans’ safety. The foreign-owned corporation Resolution Copper has no incentive to do that ongoing labor after its mining operations are over; in fact, it has a long history of contaminating environments near its mines.

The Inter-Tribal Association of Arizona and Tribes in the state have long opposed the mine. The Western Apache people in particular cannot engage in their religious practices and sacred ceremonies anywhere else. Dr. Wendsler Nosie Sr., former Tribal Chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, said last year that: “To destroy Oak Flat would erase our Native identity, our culture, and our connection to the Creator… [and] irreversibly harm the environment.”

State governments have a responsibility to respect Tribal sovereignty, and you can do so now by rejecting Resolution Copper’s mine tailings facility proposal. Please stand with Arizonans, including Tribal citizens.