Supreme Court Refuses Plea to Protect Oak Flat

Photo courtesy Apache Stronghold

Supreme Court Refuses Plea to Protect Oak Flat 

Apache Stronghold said it will continue the fight in the courts

Wendsler Nosie Sr. said, "While this decision is a heavy blow, our struggle is far from over. We urge Congress to take decisive action to stop this injustice while we press forward in the courts."

By Becket Law, Censored News, May 27, 2025

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court today refused to protect a Western Apache sacred site, Oak Flat, from destruction by a Chinese-owned mining giant. In Apache Stronghold v. United States, a coalition of Apaches, other Native peoples, and non-Native allies will now continue to fight in court to stop the government from transferring Oak Flat to Resolution Copper and turning the 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 refusal to hear the appeal, saying that the Court’s “decision to shuffle this case off our docket without a full airing is a grievous mistake -- one with consequences that threaten to reverberate for generations.”