Despite the U.S. Supreme Court refusing to hear arguments last month from Apache Stronghold, the nonprofit is still trying to revive its religious freedom case over Oak Flat with the group asking the high court to reconsider Monday.
“I betcha the courts don’t change their mind in .001% of the time,” said Bob Miller, who is Eastern Shawnee and a law professor at Arizona State University's Indian Legal Clinic. “I cannot conceive of the Supreme Court changing its mind, because why would the judge think he was wrong on Wednesday and change his mind on Friday?”
He’s been following the legal saga to protect Oak Flat from copper mining and wasn’t surprised by last month’s decision. The nation’s high court allows parties to re-appeal a denied petition within 25 days. But Miller says asking the nine justices to reconsider will almost certainly not alter the outcome.
Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas argued in a dissent that not hearing Apache Stronghold’s case is “a grievous mistake” threatening to “reverberate for generations.”
Oak Flat — considered an Apache holy site — could be destroyed one day, should the Supreme Court not intervene. That swath of public land within the Tonto National Forest will soon turn into private property — in less than 60 days — once the U.S. Forest Service trades property with the multinational mining company Resolution Copper.
The nonprofit even sent a letter to President Donald Trump, writing this deal “betrays the fundamental American principle of religious freedom” – citing that recent dissent from the pair of conservative justices.
Trump has prioritized the project as a part of his critical minerals agenda.
In a statement, Resolution Copper told KJZZ the company “appreciates the many months of attention the Supreme Court has already given to this case,” which had been reviewed more than a dozen times since November.
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Despite being under new ownership, the Resolution Copper president and general manager stresses Oak Flat will remain mostly untouched. Chí’chil Biłdagoteel, as Apaches call it, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. -
The U.S. Forest Service transferred ownership of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper on Monday, a major setback for opponents of a massive mine at a site the San Carlos Apache Tribe considers sacred.
