Protect Apache Sacred Site from Foreign Mining Exploitation

The proposed Resolution Copper mining operation at Oak Flat threatens to permanently destroy a sacred site that is the foundation of traditional Western Apache culture and religion. Permanently protecting the Chi'chil Bildagoteel (Oak Flat) Historic District is critical to upholding the United States' trust responsibility to safeguard tribal sacred areas on federal lands. Enacting the Save Oak Flat From Foreign Mining Act (H.R. 1351) would repeal the misguided land exchange provision that made this devastating project possible in the first place. While economic opportunities are important, they cannot come at the irreversible cost of desecrating Native American holy grounds with deep cultural and spiritual significance. We have an ethical obligation as a society to respect indigenous peoples' religious freedoms and ancestral connections to the land. Prioritizing corporate profits over environmental protection and human rights sets a dangerous precedent that undermines our core values. The proposed copper mine would not only obliterate a treasured Apache sacred site, but likely pollute regional water resources as well. This unacceptable trade-off exemplifies the exploitative overreach of unchecked corporate interests and unsustainable resource extraction. I urge you to uphold America's responsibility to tribal nations by cosponsoring and supporting the Save Oak Flat Act to permanently protect this irreplaceable cultural heritage area from ruinous foreign mining operations.