Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona), far right, with members of the San Carlos Apache Tribe at Save Oak Flat rally in Washington, D.C. July 22, 2015. Photo from Facebook
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona) explains why he introduced H.R.2811, the Save Oak Flat Act, to prevent a mining company from destroyed sacred Oak Flat in Arizona:
Perhaps most egregiously, last year’s National Defense Authorization Act – a bill President Obama could not have easily vetoed – included a shameful provision mandating a land swap long favored by a mining firm called Resolution Copper, which is co-owned by multinational conglomerates Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, at the expense of sacred Native American land. For years, Resolution has sought access to a copper deposit in eastern Arizona at a site called Oak Flat, which has been home to the San Carlos Apache Nation’s traditional acorn and medicinal herb collecting and religious ceremonies for centuries. Oak Flat includes some of the Nation’s most important cultural and historic land and is near an especially sacred mountain called Apache Leap, where warriors jumped to their deaths rather than allowing themselves to be captured by pursuing U.S. cavalry. For the San Carlos Apache, few sites have equal importance. They fear Apache Leap will collapse or be damaged by the intensive block cave mining Resolution proposes. Their wishes have been ignored. Last Congress, Republican House leaders had to cancel a vote on a bill forcing the Forest Service to trade the land to Resolution due to lack of support. Undeterred, Arizona’s Republican senators snuck a swap provision into the defense bill knowing it would not be easy to remove – or easy for President Obama to reject. Now the San Carlos Apache are facing the imminent prospect of permanent damage to this sacred site. The line on treating Indian Country with disrespect has to be drawn. On June 17, I introduced the bipartisan Save Oak Flat Act to repeal the land trade while leaving the defense law intact. It’s one fight I can truly say I’m proud to lead.Get the Story:
Raul Grijalva: Congress Must Rebuild Trust With Native American Tribes (Indian Country Today 7/22)
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