Save Oak Flat

Tucked away in the Arizona mountains east of a tiny town called Superior is a place called Oak Flat. It isn’t obvious- there are no flashing signs with giant neon arrows saying “THIS WAY- COME AND SEE.” There are no massive statues, or informative plaques, or sidewalks and railings directing tourists to the next stopping point on their tour. It isn’t conspicuous. It isn’t flashy. It’s not that kind of place. But Oak Flat possesses a kind of beauty that far surpasses that of any place I’ve ever been with a sidewalk and a plaque. Its beauty is subtle, and quiet. No, there are no pamphlets, no rangers to tell you about the history of the formation of every rock and tree and canyon at Oak Flat. It’s not that kind of place. 

The beauty of Oak Flat is quiet, and subtle- but it is also powerful. The moment you step onto the land here, something feels different. Yes, it is beautiful in the traditional sense- there are massive oak trees that sway in the wind, rolling hills as far as you can see, and mountains and canyons beyond them that rival those of any scenic overlook whose plaque I have had the pleasure of reading. But more than this, as soon as you feel the wind on your face, or see the sun shining through the oak trees, or close your eyes and listen, you can feel in your bones that Oak Flat is alive. That the energy here is different, and that you are not only seeing beauty through your eyes, but that you are feeling beauty through every sense, every cell of your body, into your soul. Because you are.

Don’t believe me? Just ask one of the members of the San Carlos Apache tribe, to whom Oak Flat  has incredible spiritual significance. They believe that beings who are direct messengers between the people and the Creator dwell here, and use this land for religious ceremonies. But beyond these ceremonies, they also come to Oak Flat to reflect and pray during times of personal struggle- to connect with the earth, and with the spirits who inhabit the land. Speaking at a meeting with a representative from the US Forest Service this past Thursday, February 10th, a member of the San Carlos Apache tribe told us all that if anything were to happen to Oak Flat, if they were no longer able to go there to pray, if they were to lose that connection to the land, that even the physical health of her body wouldn’t be able to withstand the loss, so great is their connection to this place. But, unfortunately, there is a chance that the San Carlos Apache tribe will never again be able to come to Oak Flat to pray, or to do anything else. 

Why? Because of Resolution Copper. They are an Australian mining company, with a major interest in the copper that lies under the ground at Oak Flat. In 2014, after being added at the last minute to a bill called the National Defense Authorization Act, a land transfer was initiated, starting the process of transferring what was originally a part of Tonto National Forest into the hands of the mining company. But that is not even close to the end of the story- since the land transfer was initiated, organizations like Apache Stronghold (a group started by the San Carlos Apache tribe to help fight the destruction of sacred sties and work to better the native community as a whole) have done everything in their power to stop it from coming to fruition. Why? Because if the mine were to gain ownership of Oak Flat, not only would the sacred site become private property, but in order to mine the copper, the mining company would literally blow up the ground at Oak Flat- setting off underground explosions that would cause the land to collapse into a crater, destroying it. Then, since the majority of the United States’ demand for copper is already met with the existing mines in the country, they would be outsourcing it to other countries, at the expense of 2.5 billion gallons of the area’s already-scarce water supply, a massive loss to the local climbing community and the destruction of multiple archaeological sites in the area in addition to the massive impact it would have on the Indigenous community.  

I grew up in a Christian household. I attended a Catholic grade school, we went to church (sometimes), but most importantly, I grew up with faith, and with an outlet to practice my faith whenever I felt compelled to do so. And my guess is that most of you reading this feel the same way- that to feel close to whatever higher power you believe in, you can go to your place of worship, practice your faith, and never once will it cross your mind that someone might take away your right to do so. Now imagine that someone told you you would be banned from your church forever, and that not only will you never be allowed to return to it, but they will also be blowing it up, and a company from another country will be using the land that it stood on to make a hefty profit. Wrong, right? The San Carlos Apache tribe thinks so, too. But somehow it is regarded differently- there is no church erected at Oak Flat, there is no monument stating that it is a sacred place, so, somehow, it is regarded with less reverence. The spiritual beliefs of Indigenous people are little-known to the rest of the country, and different, and are often forgotten about- and therefore are somehow regarded with less reverence. 

From the moment our ancestors set foot on the land that we now call the United States of America, we have laid claim to everything that we have come across. We “discovered” it, we found it, we were here first- so we took what was, or so we thought, “rightfully” ours to take. But there was one problem with this strategy- we weren’t really the first. But the people who were here thousands of years before us? Well, they didn’t see it the same way. The Indigenous people didn’t comprehend the concept of “owning” land- how could you lay claim to something that was there to provide for all of us, something that was spiritual, that connected us to our faith and to our roots, that was alive, even sacred? But the way we saw it, they hadn’t claimed it yet, so we would. And ever since, we have done everything in our power to remove the Indigenous people from the land they had inhabited since before recorded history- to force them onto reservations, away from the places they had lived their whole lives. This was hundreds of years ago. But somehow, today we are still trying to take from these people. They have been so incredibly wronged, and still they have to fight to keep even the tiniest portion of their land, their culture, their spirituality. Still they have to fight to have the United States recognize their religion, their culture, their significance. 

Listening to a woman by the name of Vanessa, a member of the San Carlos Apache tribe and the Apache Stronghold, speak on Thursday, tears welled up in my eyes. She spoke about her children, in particular her one-year-old daughter, and her fear that if Oak Flat is destroyed, her daughter will never know what it is like to connect with that place, will never be able to walk with her mother through the oak trees and hear the stories of her people, will never know what it truly means to be Apache. Instead, she envisioned a world in which she would drive by Oak Flat on the highway, point to the massive crater in the ground created by the mine, and say “there, baby, that hole in the ground, that was where you came from.” And as Vanessa herself cried, many of us cried with her, because after a lifetime of fighting to maintain her culture, her heritage, her faith, in the face of constant adversity, somehow she still has to fight. 

Our country has come so far in recent times- we live in an age where people are accepting of everyone, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion.. but somehow, in all of the social revolutions of the previous decades, we have forgotten about the people who lived here before any of our ancestors ever set foot on the ground we now call “ours.” We stand up for every other religion, every other faith of any kind, but somehow we forget to, or don’t dare to, stand up for the one set of beliefs, the only group of people, who truly have the right to call themselves American. As political as this issue has become, at the same time the idea of politics being involved at all feels ridiculous, because ultimately it isn’t about politics, or government, or money. It is about respecting the religious rights of a people who have received nothing but disrespect for far too long, and by doing so maintain the standard that everyone has a right to their culture, their religion, their beliefs, no matter where or how you practice them. And standing at Oak Flat, listening to the stories of the beauty and the power this place holds, feeling in their voices and seeing in their eyes how much this land means to the Apache people, you can’t help but understand what a genuine atrocity it would be to see this place destroyed forever so that a foreign mining company can make some quick cash and move on to blast another hole in the earth somewhere else. 

Standing there listening on Thursday, in addition to feeling devastated for these people, I also had a sense of helplessness. I felt a desperate need to do something, to help preserve this sacred land, to help prevent this atrocity- but I had no idea what I could possibly do. I don’t have much to contribute. I’m not a lawyer- in fact, I’m not an expert in any particular field. I don’t have any big important connections, or any special skills that could be of use. I even had a moment where I felt that I didn’t deserve to be a part of this- I’m not a member of this community, so how could I really understand what they are going through? How did I have the right to even try to help? But then it occurred to me- it’s so much bigger than that. It’s not about being “a part of the community,” because we are all a part of it. We are all human, and as long as there are wrongs being done to other human beings, it is not only the right but the responsibility of every one of us to speak up, to stand up, to try to right those wrongs. So here I am, doing the only thing I know how to do in times of hurt and frustration, when I am at a loss- writing about it. Will anyone read this? I have absolutely no idea. But I also know in my heart that I have to write it anyway. This small thing, this “article,” is my contribution. But it’s not just me- we can all do something, anything, to help. So if you are out there reading this, and you feel compelled to join the fight in some way, but you just don’t know how, jump in- write a letter or make a phone call to your Senator, or your Congressman, asking them to co-sponsor the Save Oak Flat Act; tell a friend about it, or a family member, or a co-worker; post on social media; and if you are ever in the part of Arizona just east of Phoenix, stop by and visit Oak Flat, and feel the living, breathing, beautiful spirit of this place for yourself. 

“Oak flat is alive.” -Dr. Wendsler Nosie, Sr.