I Support the Sacred!
United States Government
Chi’chil Bildagoteel (Oak Flat) is sacred. Oak Flat is Apache territory protected under the 1852 Treaty of Santa Fe and has been protected from mining under the US Forest Service ‘due to cultural and natural value,’ since 1955. The Apache and other Indigenous people have tended the holy in that land, through ceremony, since time immemorial. Oak Flat is essential to the authentic practice of Apache religion. Protecting the sacred is a civil and religious obligation for us all!
Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of British and Australian mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP, proposes to completely destroy this sacred site and contaminate the surrounding land, water and air. Oak Flat has been protected from mining under the US Forest Service “due to cultural and natural value,” since 1955.
In February 2021, Apache Stronghold filed a lawsuit to defend their right to pray at Oak Flat. Read more about Apache Stronghold v. United States.
Sponsored by
To:
United States Government
From:
Donna Detweiler
I wholeheartedly support Apache Stronghold in their quest for religious liberty and in their pursuit of justice in Apache Stronghold v. U.S. et al. I commit to protecting sacred sites everywhere.
Protecting the religious freedom of Apache peoples is essential in the preservation of my own right to religious freedom. Sacred sites recognized first by indigenous people are no less valid in the practice of religion than great cathedrals built by humankind.
I call on you to do everything in your power to stop the land swap that would destroy Chi'chil Bildagoteel (Oak Flat), and to protect this sacred land for this and future generations.