THE WILD HUNT – Since 2014, the Apache have fought in court to stop the transfer of their sacred land. People speaking English call that land “Oak Flat.” People speaking the Apache language call it “Chi-chil Bildagoteel.”
Since 2024, the case of the Apache has awaited a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. In mid-April, the second Trump administration announced that it would start the transfer of the land’s mining rights to Resolution Copper, a mining company, after June 16. Resolution Copper intends to transform that sacred land into a copper mine that will look like a pit 1,000-foot (304.8 meters) deep and two miles (3.2 kilometers) wide.
Oak Flat sits on federal land. It is not within the Apache Reservation, but the Apache hold ceremonies there, they hold sweat lodges there, and they harvest medicine-plants there.
Emory oak grove at Oak Flat, AZ – Image credit: Copyright © 2020 Elias Butler Photography All Rights Reserved – CC-BY-SA-4.0
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a website for the Oak Flat project. On April 17, it reported that the Trump administration set a date for the publication of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). That date would be after June 16. At that point, the transfer of Oak Flat to Resolution moves one step closer. That April 17 notice acknowledged that the Apache have cases pending before the Supreme Court.
Per that April 17 notice, two outcomes are possible. If the court declines to hear the cases before June 16, the Trump administration will begin the transfer. If, by June 16, the court finds in favor of the Apache or the case is still pending, the administration “may reevaluate how to proceed.”
On April 18, 2025, the Arizona Republic reported that the Trump administration has fast tracked the transfer of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper. They included other mining proposals in this fast-track process.
This fast tracking includes other sites, such as the Lisbon Valley copper mine in Utah, the McDermitt and Silver Peak lithium mines in Nevada, and the Stibnite open-pit gold mine in Idaho.
The Trump administration invoked the specter of national security to justify this fast track. It based this decision on its Executive Order of March 20. In it, Trump declared the shortage of certain critical materials to be a matter of national security.
In response, the lawyers for Apache Stronghold filed a letter with the Supreme Court. That letter called for the Court to act soon. They want action before the administration preempts the Court’s ruling. The Arizona Republic quoted one of the lawyers as saying, “this notice removes all doubt: the government intends to move forward, and to do so quickly.”
On April 18, 2025, Native News Online reported the reaction of Dr. Wendsler Nosie Sr.’s of Apache Stronghold to Trump’s plan. He described it as “the same violent pattern we have seen for centuries.”
The spiritual significance of Oak Flat/Chi’chil Biłdagoteel
In their petition to the Supreme Court, Apache Stronghold’s lawyers described Oak Flat’s spiritual significance. Oak Flat constitutes a “unique dwelling place of spiritual beings called Ga’an.” They act as “guardians’ and “messengers” between the Creator and the Apache. The petition called the Ga’an “the very foundation of [Apache] religion.” Neither the Ga’an, nor Apache ceremonies at Oak Flat could occur elsewhere.
Within Oak Flat, the Apache mark their transition to adulthood through sweat lodge ceremonies. There, they bless and heal in Holy Grounds Ceremonies. There, the Apache say or sing place specific prayers and song. For the ceremonies to work, the Apache must gather specific animals, plants, and minerals, and those materials need to come from the site, to have been “touched” by the Ga’an.
The Apache Multi-Day Sunrise Ceremony
The multi-day Sunrise Ceremony marks the transition from girlhood to womanhood among the Apache. First, the girl gathers only those flowers that “contain ‘the spirit of Chi’chil Biłdagoteel.’” As she gathers those flowers, she thanks Chi’chil Biłdagoteel for its resources. Her godmother then dresses her in “the essential tools of becoming a woman.” Other tribal members sing, dance, and pray around her.
At night, the Ga’an approach and enter into the Crown Dancers, a group of Apache men. The Ga’an, in the form of the Crown Dancers, bless the girl. She then joins the dance. Later, on the last day of the ceremony, one of the Ga’an dancers takes white clay from the earth of Chi’chil Biłdagoteel. The dancer then paints the girl’s face with that clay. In doing so, they mold her into the woman she is becoming. Later, her godmother wipes the clay from the girl’s eyes. The girl has become a new woman. She has been born from Chi’chil Biłdagoteel.
Not only an ecosystem, but also millennia-old spiritual traditions would be lost if the land touched by the Ga’an becomes a mine pit.
(Editor’s note: The Wild Hunt has previously reported on the history of this case: 1/18/21, 1/26/21, 2/15/21, 2/22/21, 07/5/22, 8/2/22, 9/13/22, 11/21/22, and 3/27/23.)
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