“Water is life. We have to protect what we have,
and we have to protect our water.”
"The swap — which will trade 5,300 acres of private parcels owned by the company to the Forest Service and give 2,400 acres including Oak Flat to Resolution so that it can mine the land without oversight — had been attempted multiple times by Arizona members of Congress on behalf of the company…. This time, the giveaway language was slipped onto the defense bill by Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona at the 11th hour. The tactic was successful only because, like most last-minute riders, it bypassed public scrutiny." -"Selling Off Apache Holy Land," Lydia Millet, May 29, 2015
Apache women lead protest into Oak Flat. One woman is carrying one of the sacred staffs
which is not to enter a vehicle and is to be carried the entire way to Oak Flat.
which is not to enter a vehicle and is to be carried the entire way to Oak Flat.
In the “Copper Triangle” of Arizona, the Apache are fighting to protect their sacred land from mining giant Rio Tinto and Arizona Republicans. One major concern among the Apache community is that mining could contaminate the reservation’s aquifer.
The neighboring mining towns of Miami and Globe receive their water from the Apache Reservation aquifer. The Apache report many hostile attitudes from the predominantly white populations of Globe and Miami, however, construction of the Oak Flat mine puts both those communities at risk of water contamination. “Coming back to this water tank, this is the whole message,” Standing Fox says. “Water is life. We have to protect what we have, and we have to protect our water.” "The Apache Way: The March To Oak Flat," popularresistance.org, March 5, 2015
The neighboring mining towns of Miami and Globe receive their water from the Apache Reservation aquifer. The Apache report many hostile attitudes from the predominantly white populations of Globe and Miami, however, construction of the Oak Flat mine puts both those communities at risk of water contamination. “Coming back to this water tank, this is the whole message,” Standing Fox says. “Water is life. We have to protect what we have, and we have to protect our water.” "The Apache Way: The March To Oak Flat," popularresistance.org, March 5, 2015
Signing up to Protect Oak Flat. They have a Facebook page, Apache Stronghold | Wendsler (Naelyn's grandfather) and Naelyn taught me the "Protect Oak Flat" salute. |
Naelyn, after speaking at the PIELC.org conference this year at the University of Oregon Law School (March 3-6, 2016). Naelyn: " For so long Native people have been put in the dark and silenced. The fact that a U.S. Senator and Presidential Candidate has chosen to focus on protecting Oak Flat give hope for my people and my generation, and more importantly for the next generation. Despite all the bad that has happened, good can come out of this by uniting to protect our culture and way of life. Hopefully this encourages more Members of Congress and individuals nationwide to fight and engage on this issue. It brings me hope not just for native people and native youth, but for the future of our Country.” Resolution Copper has chosen to mine the copper using the highly destructive block cave mining technique. By Resolution Copper’s own admission, this will result in collapsing the surface of the land, destroying forever our place of worship." Bernie Sanders Introduces Senate Companion Bill to Save Oak Flat, The Bernie Report, November 5, 2015 | "Naelyn Pike, a 16-year-old member of the Chiricahua Apache tribe, demonstrated in Times Square on Friday against a land swap between the federal government and a copper company that could affect land the protestors hold sacred." Credit Standing Fox "From Times Square to the Capitol, Apache Protestors Fight U.S. Land Swap with Mining Company," NYTimes, May 29, 2015 |