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| Photo courtesy Apache Stronghold |
Apache Stronghold renews Supreme Court bid to save Oak Flat
Recent Supreme Court ruling casts doubt on feds’ plan to destroy sacred site
By Becket Fund, Censored News, July 3, 2025
WASHINGTON – A coalition of Western Apaches, other Native peoples, and non-Native allies asked the Supreme Court today to reconsider their plea to protect Oak Flat in light of the Supreme Court’s recent landmark ruling on religious freedom in Mahmoud v. Taylor.
In May, the Justices declined to hear the Apaches’ appeal to stop the federal government from transferring Oak Flat to Resolution Copper, a Chinese-owned mining company that plans to turn the sacred site into a massive mining crater, ending Apache religious practices forever. (Watch this short video to learn more). Justice Gorsuch, joined by Justice Thomas, dissented from the Court’s decision not to hear the case, Apache Stronghold v. United States, calling it a “grievous mistake—one with consequences that threaten to reverberate for generations.”
Apache Stronghold is now asking the Court to reconsider its decision in light of Mahmoud v. Taylor. In Mahmoud, the Court ruled that parents suffered a burden on their faith when a public school board required their children to read storybooks that conflicted with their religious beliefs, without giving them notice or a chance to opt out. The Apaches argue that if reading objectionable storybooks is enough to burden religious exercise, then the government’s plan to destroy Oak Flat—and end Apache worship there forever—must also be recognized as a burden. They’re urging the Court to send the case back to the lower courts so Oak Flat isn’t permanently destroyed.
“The federal government and Resolution Copper want to wipe Oak Flat off the map and choke off our spiritual lifeblood forever,” said Dr. Wendsler Nosie Sr. of Apache Stronghold. “Now is the time for the Court to take our sacred land off death row. We pray the Justices will protect Oak Flat the same way it protected religious parents just last week.”
Since time immemorial, Western Apaches and other Native peoples have gathered at Oak Flat, outside of present-day Superior, Arizona, for sacred religious ceremonies that cannot take place anywhere else. Known in Apache as Chi’chil Biłdagoteel, Oak Flat is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a Western Apache Traditional Cultural Property and National Historic District.
Apache Stronghold is now asking the Court to reconsider its decision in light of Mahmoud v. Taylor. In Mahmoud, the Court ruled that parents suffered a burden on their faith when a public school board required their children to read storybooks that conflicted with their religious beliefs, without giving them notice or a chance to opt out. The Apaches argue that if reading objectionable storybooks is enough to burden religious exercise, then the government’s plan to destroy Oak Flat—and end Apache worship there forever—must also be recognized as a burden. They’re urging the Court to send the case back to the lower courts so Oak Flat isn’t permanently destroyed.
“The federal government and Resolution Copper want to wipe Oak Flat off the map and choke off our spiritual lifeblood forever,” said Dr. Wendsler Nosie Sr. of Apache Stronghold. “Now is the time for the Court to take our sacred land off death row. We pray the Justices will protect Oak Flat the same way it protected religious parents just last week.”
Since time immemorial, Western Apaches and other Native peoples have gathered at Oak Flat, outside of present-day Superior, Arizona, for sacred religious ceremonies that cannot take place anywhere else. Known in Apache as Chi’chil Biłdagoteel, Oak Flat is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a Western Apache Traditional Cultural Property and National Historic District.
Oak Flat has been protected from mining and other harmful practices for decades. These protections were targeted in December 2014 when a last-minute provision was inserted into a must-pass defense bill authorizing the transfer of Oak Flat to the Resolution Copper company. Resolution Copper plans to turn the sacred site into a two-mile-wide and 1,100-foot-deep crater.
“If reading a storybook to a young girl in public school violates religious freedom, then surely blasting the cradle of Western Apache religion to oblivion, so that no Apache girl can ever worship there again, does too,” said Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel at Becket. “Once Oak Flat is gone, there’s no bringing it back. The Court shouldn’t let such a tragedy come to pass without a second look.”
Apache Stronghold—a coalition of Apaches, other Native peoples, and non-Native allies—filed this lawsuit in January 2021 seeking to halt the proposed mine at Oak Flat. The mine is opposed by 21 of 22 federally recognized tribal nations in Arizona and by the National Congress of American Indians. Meanwhile, national polling indicates that 74% of Americans support protecting Oak Flat. The Ninth Circuit ruled earlier this year that the land transfer is not subject to federal laws protecting religious freedom. But five judges dissented, writing that the court “tragically err[ed]” by refusing to protect Oak Flat.
In addition to Becket, Apache Stronghold is represented by Erin Murphy of Clement & Murphy PLLC, Professor Stephanie Barclay of Georgetown Law School, and attorneys Michael V. Nixon and Clifford Levenson.
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Ryan Colby at media@becketfund.org or 202-349-7219.
Additional Information:
“If reading a storybook to a young girl in public school violates religious freedom, then surely blasting the cradle of Western Apache religion to oblivion, so that no Apache girl can ever worship there again, does too,” said Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel at Becket. “Once Oak Flat is gone, there’s no bringing it back. The Court shouldn’t let such a tragedy come to pass without a second look.”
Apache Stronghold—a coalition of Apaches, other Native peoples, and non-Native allies—filed this lawsuit in January 2021 seeking to halt the proposed mine at Oak Flat. The mine is opposed by 21 of 22 federally recognized tribal nations in Arizona and by the National Congress of American Indians. Meanwhile, national polling indicates that 74% of Americans support protecting Oak Flat. The Ninth Circuit ruled earlier this year that the land transfer is not subject to federal laws protecting religious freedom. But five judges dissented, writing that the court “tragically err[ed]” by refusing to protect Oak Flat.
In addition to Becket, Apache Stronghold is represented by Erin Murphy of Clement & Murphy PLLC, Professor Stephanie Barclay of Georgetown Law School, and attorneys Michael V. Nixon and Clifford Levenson.
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Ryan Colby at media@becketfund.org or 202-349-7219.
Additional Information:
- Supreme Court Petition for Certiorari in Apache Stronghold v. United States (September 11, 2024)
- Video: Sacred Lands and Copper Ore: Apaches Fight for their Ancestral Lands
- Case page for Apache Stronghold v. United States (Images, b-roll and legal documents)
- Media kit for Apache Stronghold v. United States (Images for media use; credit Becket)
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Becket is a non-profit, public-interest law firm dedicated to protecting the free expression of all religious traditions and has a 100% win-rate before the United States Supreme Court. For over 30 years, it has successfully defended clients of all faiths, including Buddhists, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Native Americans, Sikhs, and Zoroastrians (read more here).
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