Religious Leaders Unite to Protect Apache Sacred Site

On October 16, the day after Indigenous Peoples Day 2024, the Presbyterian Church (USA), Mennonite Church USA, and Lipan Native American Church submitted a friend of the court brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of protecting Oak Flat, an Apache sacred site known to the Apache as Chi’Chil Bildagoteel. This site is under threat of destruction due to a proposed mining project.

The brief argues that allowing the destruction of Oak Flat would constitute a “substantial burden on religious exercise,” as it would end the Apache people’s ability to engage in their sacred rituals.

Under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993, the government is prohibited from taking actions that significantly interfere with religious practices unless it can prove that such actions are the least restrictive way to achieve a compelling interest.

Apache Stronghold, a coalition of Western Apache people along with other Native American and non-Indigenous supporters, asked the U.S. Supreme Court on September 11 to protect their sacred site at Oak Flat, Arizona, from destruction by a copper mining giant after a federal appeals court rejected their request.

Significance of Oak Flat

For generations, Oak Flat, located in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest, has been a place of profound religious significance to the Apache people. They are now fighting to save it from the irreversible damage that copper mining could cause. Apache Stronghold has been leading legal efforts to preserve the sacred site.

“This country was founded on freedom of speech, religion, and worship, which has been given away to a foreign mining company,” wrote Wendsler Nosie Sr., leader of Apache Stronghold, a Native American nonprofit dedicated to defending holy sites and upholding religious freedom.

“Apaches have held Oak Flat sacred since before recorded history. It is ‘uniquely endowed with holiness and medicine, and neither the powers resident there, nor [the Apache] religious activities that pray to and through these powers, can be relocated.’ Only there can their ‘prayers directly go to [the] creator.'”

What Is a Friend of the Court Brief?

A friend of the court brief, or amicus curiae brief, allows individuals, groups, or organizations not directly involved in a case to present their views to the court. In this case, it serves as a way for faith communities to emphasize the religious freedom issues at stake.

The Legal Argument: Protecting Religious Freedom

The brief points out that the U.S. Forest Service’s 2021 Environmental Impact Statement identified less harmful alternatives for copper extraction, but these alternatives were dismissed due to higher operational costs. The brief argues that the government’s failure to seriously consider these alternatives prioritizes profit over religious freedom.

The brief concludes by calling for the Supreme Court to provide clearer guidance to lower courts on how to apply the strict scrutiny standard, ensuring that religious freedom is properly protected in future cases.

“So the key question in the lawsuit is: Does destroying Oak Flat, swallowing it in a crater, and ending Apache religious exercises forever, substantially burden the exercise of religion?” asks Luke Goodrich, senior counsel for Becket Law, a firm specializing in religious liberty cases. “We think the answer is obvious, and we hope the Supreme Court agrees.”

Image credits: An old-growth Emory oak grove at Oak Flat, Arizona by Elias Butler Photography. SinaguaWiki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.