The Apache tribe is taking their dispute with the federal government over sacred land to the Supreme Court.

The Apache tribe in Arizona is suing the federal government and copper producers in the Supreme Court, claiming their religious rights to sacred land are being violated.

The Apache Stronghold, a nonprofit organization representing the tribe's interests, is striving to protect Oak Flat, which the Apaches consider their "direct path to the Creator and the location of sacred ceremonies that cannot be performed anywhere else."

The government has long safeguarded Apache rituals in the area, as stated in the high court petition.

"Due to the discovery of copper beneath Oak Flat, the government decided to transfer the site to Respondent Resolution Copper for a mine that will inevitably destroy Oak Flat, consuming it in a huge crater and putting an end to sacred Apache rituals forever."

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and the Free Exercise Clause prohibit the government from doing so, and Apache Stronghold is requesting that it be reversed.

The Ninth Circuit rejected both claims in a fractured en banc ruling cobbled together from two separate 6-5 majorities. Although the court acknowledged that destroying Oak Flat would 'literally prevent' the Apaches from engaging in religious exercise, it nevertheless concluded that doing so would not ‘substantially burden’ their religious exercise under RFRA, relying on this Court’s pre-RFRA decision in Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association.

Although the majority agreed that targeting Oak Flat for destruction is not applicable to all situations, they rejected the free-exercise claim for the same reason: no significant burden.

The Apache people consider Oak Flat, a 6.7-square-mile area east of Superior, Arizona, to be a sacred site due to its old-growth oak groves, sacred springs, burial locations, and a concentration of archaeological sites that indicate continuous use for the past 1,500 years.

The Apache Stronghold's Wendsler Nosie referred to it as their Mount Sinai.

"Our ceremonial ways have been shaped by our identity and continue to define us as people, reflecting our creation and placement on this earth, as Nosie explained in an interview with Planet Chronicle Digital. The spiritual significance of these practices is amplified when tied to the connection between individuals and the Creator and Mother Earth."

The Sunrise Ceremony, a multi-day celebration marking an Apache girl's entry into womanhood, is one example mentioned in the legal filing.

"The girl collects plants from Oak Flat, which she believes possess the spirit of "Chi'chil Biłdagoteel." As she harvests, she communicates with the spirit of Oak Flat, expressing her appreciation for its offerings. Her godmother adorns her in the necessary items for becoming a woman, and tribal members envelop her in song, dance, and prayer."

In 1995, a significant copper deposit was discovered 4,500 to 7,000 feet beneath Oak Flat. Two multinational mining companies, Rio Tinto and BHP, formed a joint venture called Resolution Copper in an attempt to obtain the deposit. Despite the efforts of congressional supporters of Resolution Copper, who introduced at least twelve standalone bills to transfer Oak Flat to the company from 2005 to 2013, all bills failed.

In 2014, Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake included a land-transfer bill in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), allowing Resolution Copper to acquire a 2,422-acre parcel including Oak Flat in exchange for approximately 5,344 acres elsewhere.

The bill repeals the presidential orders safeguarding Oak Flat from mining and instructs the Secretary of Agriculture to create an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed mine.

On January 15, 2021, Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack released the EIS stating that the mine would devastate Oak Flat.

Nonprofit law firm Becket, which defends religious liberties and represents Apache Stronghold, claims that the government is infringing on their clients' religious freedoms.

According to Joe Davis, a counsel at Becket, the government's management of federal land is exempt from the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). If the government prevents individuals from exercising their religion, it imposes a substantial burden. However, this rule does not apply to federal land.

He stated that there is no legal foundation for that type of argument, as it was written by Congress.

He stated that RFRA applies to all federal law and its implementation, and that the use of land for religious purposes is a religious exercise that the law is intended to safeguard.

The Supreme Court may choose to hear the case in October.

"The destruction of Oak Flat, the birthplace of Apache religion, would be a grave violation of our nation's promise of religious freedom for all faiths, according to Luke Goodrich, vice president of Becket. The Court should uphold its strong record of protecting religious freedom by allowing the Apaches to continue worshiping at Oak Flat as they have for centuries."