Dozens of members of the
San Carlos Apache Tribe of Arizona, along with their supporters, are completing a 40-mile march to one of their most sacred sites.
Participants gathered at the tribal administration building yesterday morning for the journey to
Oak Flat.
They passed through Globe last night and are due to reach the site that will be affected by a huge copper mine this afternoon.
"Blisters, sunburn but great unity and strong spirits," a tribal member said on Facebook this afternoon as the walkers approached Oak Flat. "Keep prayers up for them."
Marchers passed by open mine sites along Highway 60 to Oak Flat. Photo by Richard Gonzalez
In December, Congress passed
H.R.3979,
the
National
Defense Authorization Act.
Section 3003
of the 1,648-page package authorizes the transfer of federal land to
Resolution Copper for a mine
at Oak Flats.
President
Barack Obama signed the bill
into
law on December 19 despite protests from Apache tribes and tribes around the
country. In response to a
petition
that opposed the transfer, the
White House said the Obama
administration will work with the mining company to address concerns about the
sacred site.
Although Section 3003 requires consultation of tribes that will be
affected by the mine, it allows the swap to go through no matter how strong the
objections. It only requires Resolution Copper to come up with "mutually
acceptable measures" to address the impacts to the sacred sites.
Nearly every tribe in Arizona opposes the mine. It affects sites used by
Apache tribes for food and medicinal gathering and for ceremonies, including
coming-of-age rites that were held as recently as last October.
Get the Story:
San Carlos Apache tribe begins 40-mile march to protest copper mine
(Cronkite News 2/6)
Native Americans protest Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton copper mine
(AFR Weekend 2/6)
San Carlos Apache Tribe Protests Land Exchange Act
(KJZZ 2/5)
Join the Conversation
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