Adelita Grijalva stands with Apache Stronghold ahead of Wednesday court hearing

Members of the nonprofit Apache Stronghold began running over the weekend from Oak Flat to the Sandra Day O’Connor Courthouse in Phoenix ahead of a Wednesday hearing — where a judge will consider delaying a land swap — and a surprise guest met with the group at a stop in the Valley.

Apache Stronghold founder Wendsler Nosie Sr. welcomed Adelita Grijalva to a sweat lodge right behind the Presbyterian Church in the Pascua Yaqui community of Guadalupe. Her father, the late Arizona congressman Raúl Grijalva, had championed their cause to save Oak Flat from foreign mining.

“Yeah, it’s so nice to meet you,” said Nosie on Monday. “And you’ll get there, you know, just like your dad did. You know he was amazing. He stood there and argued, you know, time after time, and went through the ridicules like we go through. But like I said, and I tell everybody, ‘We’re not gonna let it go.’”

Adelita Grijalva pledges to pick up the fight by following in her father’s footsteps if elected to serve out the rest of his term on behalf of the 7th Congressional District in southern Arizona.

“Well, the environmental devastation does not outweigh a couple jobs,” Grijalva told KJZZ. “And I do think that we have to look for better ways to sustain the needs that we have in the U.S. and in the world, and not desecrate places that are sacred.”

A two-mile wide crater is expected to form near the town of Superior.

The Trump administration has taken steps to expedite a land transfer needed for Resolution Copper to begin mining — before the U.S. Supreme Court decides to hear the nonprofit’s religious freedom case.

Grijalva believed her dad still wouldn’t give up.

“He dedicated his life to speaking up for those who don’t feel like they have a voice, and so that is what the rest of us need to do,” she added. “And I think that people need to know where you stand, so that’s why I'm here.”

Two of her campaign's biggest backers — U.S. Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly — would not tell KJZZ where they stand on Oak Flat, when asked about their official positions on the massive copper mining project near the town of Superior.

“Mining is a major contributor to Arizona’s economy,” Kelly said in a statement. “We are leading the way in supplying other critical minerals essential for national security and clean energy technologies. This project has been under consideration for two decades, and over my past few years in the Senate, I’ve met with tribal and local leaders to hear from them. I’ll continue to do that as this process moves forward.”

“Responsible mining projects create good-paying jobs and help secure our domestic supply chains, but we must do it the right way,” said Gallego in a statement. “In Congress, I’ve worked to ensure Arizona’s tribes and the views of all stakeholders are considered, and as a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I will continue those efforts as the Oak Flat discussion continues.”