#sacredland — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #sacredland, aggregated by home.social.
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U.S. is Dynamiting #Kumeyaay #SacredMountain for #BorderWall Expansion
Kumeyaay's sacred mountain is being dynamited at the same time Hia-Ced #Oodham's sacred place is being bulldozed for this border wall on the #Arizona border.
By #BrendaNorrell, #CensoredNews, May 15, 2026
"The United States government is dynamiting the sacred place of Kumeyaay, who live on both sides of the border, and blasted two sacred monoliths that were 60 to 120 million years old. The U.S. began blasting #CerroCuchumá in early April, a historic and #SacredSite where their #MedicinePeople carry out ceremonies, without consultation as required by U.S. federal law."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/05/us-is-dynamiting-kumeyaay-sacred.html#USPol #ProtectTheSacred #DefundCBP #RespectTheTreaties #TohonoOodham #KumeyaayPeople #NativeAmericans #SacredSites #SacredLand #NoBorders
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Victory for #Lakota Youths Protecting Sacred #PeSla
Company withdraws from controversial Black Hills exploratory drilling project
"We stopped the drilling, this is a victory for the #OcetiSakowin," Lakota youths said as the drilling rig drove out of #SacredLand.
By Seth Tupper, May 8, 2026 via @bsnorrell.blogspot.com
"A company that’s being sued for exploratory drilling near a culturally significant site in South Dakota’s Black Hills is withdrawing from the project, according to a letter shared with project opponents.
"The opponents include the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, which posted a copy of the letter and a statement Friday on social media.
" 'This is a testament to the people, organizations, and tribal governments who showed unified action, determination, and courage in the face of what seemed to be overwhelming odds,' the alliance said.
"The letter from Pete Lien & Sons to the U.S. Forest Service references the #RapidCity-based company’s project near Pe’ Sla, also known as #ReynoldsPrairie, which is a high mountain meadow in the central #BlackHills. "
Source:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/05/victory-for-lakota-youths-protecting.html#IndigenousResistance #ProtectTheSacred #LakotaYouths #BlackHillsCleanWaterAlliance
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#Texas quietly approves #Starbase launch site expansion
Brandon Lingle
Tue, March 24, 2026 at 4:48 PM EDT"The permit allows SpaceX 'to fill over 17 acres of #wetlands and #TidalFlats,' the Corps said. The work 'includes building new infrastructure such as a new entrance road, test and staging pads, water and propellant storage, blast walls, equipment staging areas and internal roadways.' "
Read more:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/texas-quietly-approves-starbase-launch-204822474.html#CarrizoComecrudo #BocaChicaBeach #SacredLand #ProtectTheSacred #Colonialism #CorporateColonialism #OccupySpaceX #TwoHeartedPeople #GarciaPasture #EndangeredSpecies #EnvironmentalRacism #AncestralLand #ElonSucks #StarbaseCity #BrownsvilleTX
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Fast-forward to 2026... (And yes, they voted for the expansion, and also just received state approval.)
#ElonMusk’s #Starbase targets protected #Texas coastal lands for expansion
These habitats are critical to the survival of species on the brink.
By Dina Arévalo, Feb 18, 2026
"Texas’ newest city is looking to massively expand its footprint less than a year after residents voted it into existence.
"The city of Starbase — home of Elon Musk’s South Texas-based #SpaceX launch site and just a stone’s throw from the beloved #BocaChica Beach — is seeking to expand its territorial boundaries by thousands of acres. That includes hundreds of acres of protected #wildlands currently owned and managed by either the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
"Starbase could begin the process to annex 7,133 acres of land that is both publicly and privately owned as soon as this week. On Wednesday, February 18, the Starbase City Commission is set to consider the matter as part of its regular monthly meeting. The 7,100-acre annexation proposal is one of just several items city leaders will deliberate Wednesday; however, the annexation discussion will occur behind closed doors as part of the meeting’s executive session."
#CarrizoComecrudo #BocaChicaBeach #SacredLand #ProtectTheSacred #Colonialism #CorporateColonialism #OccupySpaceX #TwoHeartedPeople #GarciaPasture #EndangeredSpecies #EnvironmentalRacism #AncestralLand #ElonSucks #StarbaseCity
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Fast-forward to 2026... (And yes, they voted for the expansion, and also just received state approval.)
#ElonMusk’s #Starbase targets protected #Texas coastal lands for expansion
These habitats are critical to the survival of species on the brink.
By Dina Arévalo, Feb 18, 2026
"Texas’ newest city is looking to massively expand its footprint less than a year after residents voted it into existence.
"The city of Starbase — home of Elon Musk’s South Texas-based #SpaceX launch site and just a stone’s throw from the beloved #BocaChica Beach — is seeking to expand its territorial boundaries by thousands of acres. That includes hundreds of acres of protected #wildlands currently owned and managed by either the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
"Starbase could begin the process to annex 7,133 acres of land that is both publicly and privately owned as soon as this week. On Wednesday, February 18, the Starbase City Commission is set to consider the matter as part of its regular monthly meeting. The 7,100-acre annexation proposal is one of just several items city leaders will deliberate Wednesday; however, the annexation discussion will occur behind closed doors as part of the meeting’s executive session."
#CarrizoComecrudo #BocaChicaBeach #SacredLand #ProtectTheSacred #Colonialism #CorporateColonialism #OccupySpaceX #TwoHeartedPeople #GarciaPasture #EndangeredSpecies #EnvironmentalRacism #AncestralLand #ElonSucks #StarbaseCity
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The Esto’k Gna Fight to Protect #SacredLands from #SpaceX Expansion
Oct 14, 2025
Key takeaways:
- Tribal nation challenges #SpaceX expansion: The Esto’k Gna, or #CarrizoComecrudo Tribe of #Texas, oppose SpaceX’s ongoing expansion at Boca Chica, saying the project desecrates sacred lands and harms protected ecosystems.
- #EnvironmentalDamage documented: Tribal leaders and #conservationists report that rocket launches have caused #fires, #debris fallout, and #HabitatLoss in an area home to #EndangeredSpecies.
- Lack of consultation and oversight: The Esto’k Gna say they were never properly consulted by federal or state agencies, despite legal obligations to consider Indigenous rights and cultural heritage in environmental reviews.
- Broader fight for recognition: The Tribe’s concerns highlight ongoing struggles for federal acknowledgment and protection of #IndigenousSovereignty in the face of high-tech industrial expansion.Excerpt: "On the southernmost edge of Texas, where the Rio Grande meets the Gulf, the Esto’k Gna Tribal Nation — also known as the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas — still hopes to protect what remains of its ancestral lands from Elon Musk’s expanding SpaceX base.
The tribe says the company’s operations at Boca Chica — rebranded 'Starbase' — have devastated fragile #ecosystems, desecrated #SacredSites, and cut off traditional access to the coastline that forms the heart of their creation story. What SpaceX hails as a gateway to Mars, tribal leaders call a continuation of the centuries-long #erasure of Indigenous peoples in the name of progress. As Tribal Chairman #JuanMancias recently told Decatur Metro, 'They dream of reaching Mars. We’re just trying to stay on Earth.' "
Read more:
https://icmagazine.org/the-estok-gna-fight-to-protect-sacred-lands-from-spacex-expansion/Watch video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPcDYLEKc0c#CulturalGenocide #EstokGna #IntercontinentalCry #ReaderSupportedNews #SacredLand #BocaChicaBeach #RocketLaunch #Pollution #CarrizoComecrudoTribe #ProtectTheSacred #Colonialism
#CorporateColonialism #OccupySpaceX #TwoHeartedPeople #GarciaPasture #EndangeredSpecies #AncestralLand #ElonSucks #StarbaseCity -
From 2024: Locals Say #SpaceX Is #Polluting #SacredLand. This Project Aims to Preserve It.
“This wasn’t just something we wanted to do,” said 35-year-old Monica Sosa, who grew up in #BrownsvilleTX, a short drive from #BocaChica Beach. “We felt like we needed to do it.”
by Cat Cardenas October 30, 2024
"Among the #CarrizoComecrudo people of Texas, it is said that the state’s rivers are like ancestors. As they flow toward the sea, they bring their abundance, their beauty, and their knowledge with them. In South Texas, the place where these rivers meet and empty into the Gulf of Mexico is a sacred life source — the location they believe to be the birthplace of the first woman. Today, most Brownsville locals know it as #BocaChicaBeach — a public stretch of sand located at the end of #Highway4, along the southernmost edge of the Texas coast. But to many people outside of the #RioGrandeValley, that land, its name, and its history have largely been swallowed up by the operation of the #RocketLaunch facility just up the road: SpaceX’s #Starbase.
"Growing up a short drive from Boca Chica Beach in Brownsville, 35-year-old Monica Sosa told The Barbed Wire she still remembers it as an escape: a piece of unspoiled coastline that was free for everyone to enjoy. On lazy summer weekends, she and her siblings would hop into her mom’s blue Chevrolet Astro van. The back seats pulled down to make room for more passengers as they stopped to pick up more family. Once there, they’d look forward to hours and hours of endless sunshine, and a cooler packed full of ham and cheese sandwiches, sodas, Cheetos, and fruit.
"As an adult, many of those happy memories have turned bittersweet. The beach, while still free to the public, is frequently plagued by the closure of Highway 4 each time there’s a rocket launch or other 'space flight activities.' And even when it’s open, the construction has fundamentally changed the landscape: There’s a tall metal SpaceX launch and catch pad towering over the once-untouched sand dunes.
" 'Boca Chica was bliss,' Sosa said earlier this month. 'I came from a working class family, and being out there was one of the only times we would come together and play. We’d be in the water, sitting in the sun, running through the lomas (hills), or burying each other in sandcastles. You could spend the whole day out there. But now there’s someone who has the right and the ability to privatize a beach that people have used for decades and decades.'
"SpaceX’s operation in the Rio Grande Valley has been far from smooth. In recent years, they’ve been cited by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for multiple violations of #wastewater regulations and been the subject of multiple legal complaints. The company has disputed these claims as 'factually inaccurate' and has been allowed to continue their operations.
"In April of this year, multiple Valley-based environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department over a proposed land swap that would grant 43 acres of #BocaChicaStatePark to #SpaceX in exchange for land near Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. In addition to their concerns about #pollution, the groups also argued that the land proposed in the swap was sacred to the #CarrizoComecrudoTribe.
" 'SpaceX has always been polluting,' Christopher Basaldú, a member of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe told the Texas Tribune, which first reported on the allegations. 'And I think people are kind of brainwashed into thinking that rockets — constructing rockets, testing rockets and blowing up rockets — that somehow that’s not causing pollution.' "
#ProtectTheSacred #Colonialism
#CorporateColonialism #OccupySpaceX #TwoHeartedPeople #GarciaPasture #EndangeredSpecies #EnvironmentalRacism #AncestralLand #ElonSucks #StarbaseCity -
#ApacheStronghold #HolyGround Ceremony
March 28, 2026
"On Saturday, March 28th at 8 am, a Holy Ground Ceremony will be held in #SanCarlosAZ, at the 7 mile Holy Ground. Those who do not know the location are welcome to camp at the Nosie’s Residence Friday night or meet there at 7 am to follow us to 7 mile Holy Ground. More information about Sunday March 29th will be available tomorrow. Announcements will be made in person at ceremony."
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/03/apache-stronghold-holy-ground-ceremony.html
#SaveOakFlat #ChíchilBiłdagoteel #ProtectOakFlat #Arizona #RioTinto #CopperMining #Fight4OurExistance
#SacredLand #TontoNationalForest
#WesternApache #ProtectTheSacred
#IndigenousNews #IndigenousActivism #CorporateColonialism #DefendTheSacred #CensoredNews #ReaderSupportedNews -
#ApacheStronghold 'We Are Still Fighting'
Statement from Dr. #WendslerNosie Sr.
March 20, 2026"Many of you have heard that on Friday, the Ninth Circuit again refused to stop the Government from giving #OakFlat to #ResolutionCopper for destruction. This is sad news. But we will never stop fighting to protect Oak Flat and each place that is sacred to our people. And we are still fighting—in the courts, in Congress, and, most importantly, spiritually.
In the courts, there are still four lawsuits seeking to protect Oak Flat. All four cases are still going. And any one of these cases could still put a stop to the Government’s and Resolution’s plans to destroy Oak Flat:
- In Lopez v. United States, on the day after Friday’s ruling, seven brave Apache women filed an emergency appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the Court to stop the mine and protect Oak Flat. The Supreme Court could rule on that appeal any day. The women in that case can also ask the Ninth Circuit to reconsider its ruling in their case. The deadline to ask for reconsideration is April 27, 2026. That case focuses on religious freedom.
- In #SanCarlosApache Tribe v. United States, also part of Friday’s ruling, the Tribe can also ask the Ninth Circuit to reconsider its ruling and/or appeal to the Supreme Court. That case focuses on the Tribe’s rights, tribal consultation, and the inadequacy of the government’s decision-making process.
- In Arizona #Mining Reform Coalition v. United States, also part of Friday’s ruling, several environmental groups and the Inter-Tribal Association of Arizona can also ask the Ninth Circuit to reconsider its ruling and/or appeal to the Supreme Court. That case focuses on the government’s unfair appraisal of Oak Flat and inadequate #EnvironmentalReview.
- Apache Stronghold v. United States, which is our case, has been 'stayed' (or temporarily put on hold) waiting for the Ninth Circuit’s ruling, which came on Friday. Now that the Ninth Circuit has ruled, our case will start again in the district court. We will continue making every possible legal claim to protect Oak Flat.In Congress, on Tuesday, Representative #AdelitaGrijalva introduced legislation to preserve public lands in the Chí’chil Biłdagoteel Historic District and fight back against the proposed mine. This bill is an important part of the fight to protect Oak Flat.
But even more than legally and politically, we are continuing to fight spiritually. This fight has never been primarily about law or politics. It is about who we are as human beings, religiously and spiritually. If we allow sacred places to be destroyed for profit, we are saying that nothing is truly sacred. We are losing something essential about our humanity—our ability to respect #MotherEarth, to honor what is holy, and to live in balance with the world around us.
That is why we are calling on all people to continue raising their voices, in prayer and protest, to protect Oak Flat—to protect the sacred. We, the Apache Stronghold, invite you to an upcoming spiritual gathering on March 28-29, 2026 at Oak Flat.
The legal system may try to reduce our struggle to questions of ownership and profit. But our connection to Mother Earth predates those systems. It is something each one of us is born into, something we carry in our prayers, our songs, and our way of life. No matter what the courts rule, no matter what the government tries to do, we will never stop fighting to preserve our sacred places. We will not lose our connection to the Creator."
Source:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/03/apache-stronghold-we-are-still-fighting.html#ChíchilBiłdagoteel #ProtectOakFlat #SanCarlosApache #ResolutionCopper #Arizona #RioTinto #SaveOakFlat #CopperMining #Fight4OurExistance #SacredLand #TontoNationalForest #WesternApaches #ProtectTheSacred #IndigenousNews #IndigenousActivism #CorporateColonialism #DefendTheSacred #CensoredNews #ReaderSupportedNews
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[Photos] #WardValley: Celebrating Stopping a #NuclearWaste Dump in the #MojaveDesert 2026
via @bsnorrell.blogspot.com
February 21, 2026
" 'We are the Pipa Aha Macav, the people along the river, instructed by the Creator to protect it.' Barrackman's words, before he passed to the Spirit World, were at Ward Valley, during the 113-day Occupation which halted a #nuclear waste dump on #SacredLand in 1998."https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/02/ward-valley-celebrating-stopping.html
#NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #NoNuclearWasteDumping #EnvironmentalRacism #RethinkNotRestart #NoNewNukes
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#OakFlat March and Run: #ApacheStronghold Photos
By Apache Stronghold, Censored News, Feb. 9, 2026
"12th Annual #OakFlatMarch/Run. The final day of the run, Saturday, February 7, 2026, the experienced runners passed through the final corridor, ending at the Oak Flat campground. The annual gathering followed, with speakers representing many tribes, backgrounds, and ages sharing their thoughts on Oak Flat and the importance of protecting this sacred and irreplaceable site. Photos by Molly Peters.
Apache Stronghold is battling to protect Oak Flat from becoming the gigantic crater of a copper mine, that would destroy the Sacred Ceremonial Place, seize and pollute the water, and poison the air and land."
Source (includes photos):
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/02/oak-flat-march-and-run-apache.html#ProtectOakFlat #SanCarlosApache #ResolutionCopper #Arizona #ChichilBildagoteel #RioTinto
#SaveOakFlat #CopperMining
#Fight4OurExistance #SacredLand #TontoNationalForest #WesternApaches #ProtectTheSacred #IndigenousNews #IndigenousActivism #CorporateColonialism #DefendTheSacred #OakFlatRun #CensoredNews #ReaderSupportedNews -
12th Annual Sacred Chi'chil BIł’dagoteel #OakFlat Run
February 5-8 pm, 2026
Schedule:
Thursday, Feb 5th - 4 pm Holy Ground Blessing and Dinner at Old San Carlos Monument. Run will follow after blessing
Friday, Feb 6th- 8 am March/Run will begin at the New Skate Park (Sport Complex) and will end in Miami, Arizona, at the Shrine
Saturday, Feb 7th - 8 am Run will begin at the Shrine in Miami, Arizona, to Oak Flat
Sunday, Feb 8th - 9 am Holy Ground Blessing at Oak Flat and then departure
FMI (Apache Stronghold website):
https://www.apache-stronghold.com/oak-flat-runFB page:
https://www.facebook.com/SaveOakFlatArizonaSource:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/02/sacred-chichil-bidagoteel-oak-flat.html#ApacheStronghold #ProtectOakFlat #SanCarlosApache #ResolutionCopper #Arizona #ChichilBildagoteel #RioTinto
#SaveOakFlat #CopperMining
#Fight4OurExistance #SacredLand #TontoNationalForest #WesternApaches #ProtectTheSacred #CorporateColonialism #DefendTheSacred #OakFlatRun #CensoredNews #ReaderSupportedNews -
Walking #BeyondCapitalism, #WendslerNosie Journeys to Federal Court in Phoenix
via #CensoredNews, January 3, 2026
Statement by Wendsler Nosie:
"Good afternoon to all my family, friends, relatives, and people. I come to you in this moment in time, knowing we all have been born into from our parents and those before. We all know those before us, suffered from a great #evil, who tried to destroy them. This evil still exists today.
Every day it works to control us and make its way to have us deceive our own children's lives, by them not being told the truth. We teach them to live and embrace a system of #capitalism that we surely know won't secure the future.
Through every passing generation, it clearly shows it has failed. From the birth of Europe to their unauthorized arrival here and the taking of the East Coast, wrongfully establishing their 13 colonies, they then turned toward the west, breaking all treaties that were dishonest from their inception, establishing a dishonest trust system allowing them to take more and more.
Their human ideology, their way to survive through their economic engine, has been a disaster. It takes and it takes and gives nothing back. No care for any kind of life, no care for the next generation. It's about living for now and being #greedy and destroying communities of people with their power of capitalism.
Since the beginning, through #colonization and capitalism, many here and around the world have suffered. People cried then and still today for a better day and still ask God, what have I done?
The political agenda of capitalism is to put fear in each of us. Pushing each of us towards the illusion that #MotherEarth and ourselves are useless. From fear we lose hope, the journey of spirituality and everything on mother earth, becomes disposable. Our mother earth is the timeline to everything. It gives us the water of life, it gives us the oxygen of life, it gives us the food of life, and it blesses us with life for our children and those yet to come.
It saddens me when this country does not prioritize all the sacred elements that give us life. It saddens me to witness that some no longer care to keep God's greatest gift alive. From a spiritual understanding, our love for one another is critical, our morals to make right decisions is critical and the love for our mother earth should be embedded forever.
We have all been taught not to recognize our mother and forced into a life to be colonized. We were blessed, in the beginning, with the tools of how to survive in the world that provides for us all.
This evil took those tools away and taught us how to be selfish, greedy, impassive and assimilate our minds and hearts to believe in capitalism. For what I have witnessed, I now can say, I see as what my father, my grandfather and great grandfather witnessed before me.
Capitalism demands your loyalty, to destroy every moral ethic, spiritual belief and God's way of life. I too know who cares and protects what God and Jesus had warned the world about. I will not be one who is loyal to capitalism, you will not fool me. If we really think it through, from those who say that capitalism will solve our problems, and when we actually understand it, disaster will occur, i.e. billions of gallons of water can remain forever, no contamination to the environment, no climate changes, one of the oldest religious ceremonies before the beginning of time continues, etc.
The United States of America clearly violated procedures and laws and ignored not only the #NativeAmericans, but also the state of #Arizona and the people of this country. Their decision to give full exemptions from the law has opened the door forever for #corporations to follow suit.
America, our civilization is in trouble and it needs your attention. As you and I today, as did our ancestors had encountered centuries ago, we are also in that moment. We cannot lose our mother earth, if she is lost, there is no life.
The sustainability of the Mother Earth ensures our children’s children will live . So, preserving mother earth today, will guarantee future generations.
I will be departing from #OakFlat on Sunday, January 4th at 11 AM. I will be walking and a little jogging to arrive in downtown Phoenix to attend the court hearings (#AZReform Mining Coalition, ITCA, San Carlos Apache Tribe and Lopez/Kinsey (Burdette) cases vs. U.S., which begin at 10 a.m. on January 7, 2026.
For those who do know me well, I had a spiritual encounter and must travel in this spiritual way. I ask each of you, if possible, to make a ceremonial fire, light a candle, or be in prayer.
The decision of the federal judges will weigh heavy on the future for water, environment, religion, and the ability to give federal exemptions to corporations without following legal policies.
#Usen (Creator), hear my prayers, as I make this journey to encounter many ugly obstacles but also witness the beauty of all life. I will let No Fear distract me, for all the beautiful spirits will be in all four directions."
Wendsler Nosie Sr.
Source:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/01/walking-beyond-capitalism-wendsler.html#SaveOakFlat #WaterIsLife #ProtectOakFlat #DefendTheSacred #NativeAmericanActivism #CorporateColonialism #CapitalismMustDie #ApacheStronghold #SanCarlosApache #ResolutionCopper
#Arizona #ChichilBildagoteel
#RioTinto #CopperMining #Fight4OurExistance #SacredLand
#TontoNationalForest #WesternApaches #ProtectTheSacred -
I just came across this from the #NationalTrustForHistoricPreservation website...
Updates on #OakFlat
December 22, 2025
"On December 3, Representative Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) introduced the #SaveOakFlat from Foreign Mining Act (H.R. 6391). The legislation would repeal Section 3003 of the FY 2015 National Defense Authorization Act [#NDAA] in order to protect a site of significant #religious, #cultural, #historical, and #environmental importance to #TribalNations in #Arizona and across the nation.
"The #SacredSite is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a Traditional Cultural Property—and for over 15 years—the National Trust has opposed the #mining project and supported preservation of the sacred site in many ways, including listing Oak Flat on our 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list in 2015, engaging in legal advocacy, and endorsing multiple legislative remedies.
"Pending federal litigation regarding Oak Flat is scheduled to be argued before the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, and oral arguments can be viewed via the livestream beginning at 11:30 AM EST/9:30 AM MST."
Source:
https://savingplaces.org/public-lands/updates/oak-flat-legislation-introduced#ProtectOakFlat #SanCarlosApache
#ResolutionCopper #Arizona
#ChichilBildagoteel #RioTinto
#SaveOakFlat #CooperMining
#Fight4OurExistance #SacredLand #TontoNationalForest #WesternApaches #ProtectTheSacred #CorporateColonialism -
SAVE THE DATES!
#ProtectOakFlat: 11th Annual Sacred #OakFlat Marathon, Feb. 5 - 8, 2026
An ever-growing story, the Annual March to Save Oak Flat each February.
"We will once again walk off the reservation, freeing ourselves from the bondage of federal policies and the inaccuracies of the history of this country. We will no longer be invisible, for God the Creator, who is known throughout the world, has spoken, once again, through all his creations, that healing must begin to save what is left, so that those yet to be born will embrace the true spirit of life." - Wendsler Nosie Sr.
Posted on December 29, 2025, via #CensoredNews:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/12/protect-oak-flat-11th-annual-sacred-oak.htmlWeb page for the Oak Flat Run (via #ApacheStronghold):
https://www.apache-stronghold.com/oak-flat-run#SanCarlosApache #ResolutionCopper #Arizona #ChichilBildagoteel #RioTinto #SaveOakFlat #CopperMining #Fight4OurExistance #SacredLand #TontoNationalForest #WesternApaches #ProtectTheSacred #CorporateColonialism
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Not surprising...😠
#ApacheStronghold -- Supreme Court Again Declines to Protect Sacred #OakFlat
By Apache Stronghold, via @bsnorrell.blogspot.com, Oct. 6, 2025
Apache Stronghold - Supreme Court update
"This morning, we received word the Supreme Court has decided not to reconsider our case. While this decision is deeply disappointing, the fight to protect Oak Flat is far from over.
We will continue pressing our case in the lower courts. In addition to our case, three other cases are also seeking to protect Oak Flat, and the Ninth Circuit will hear oral argument in those cases on
January 7, 2026. We’ll also keep urging Congress, the President, and federal agencies to stop the destruction of Oak Flat and protect our ancestral sacred land.Oak Flat deserves the same respect and protection this country has long given to other places of worship.
Wendsler Nosie Sr. responding to the Supreme Court result, 'First, thank you everyone for all the hard work. You have been a blessing to us all in our country. Most importantly deep within us we
knew, but now we definitely witness the truth of this country, by the Supreme Court taking no action. What is evil created the unfairness, not just to us human beings but to all of God’s creations. When this country was founded, humans with the heart of #greed worked to mute the voice of the Creator. By this undertaking, we now live with a third entity, who was created to take and destroy every blessed
gift God gave us through our #MotherEarth. We know this evil as #Corporations, which comes from
#capitalism which #colonizes people. We must defend what is spiritual, holy and God’s greatest gift to us all, our Mother. Today is a new day for me as I now take the blessings from Usen (God), to walk
the footsteps of the purpose I was blessed with and no longer be a captive.'America has shown us the government’s true intentions, we are unheard and ignored once again. Our judicial system’s voice is muted by capitalism, the ultimate destruction of Mother Earth has been given permission as if they control her, she supplies our lives not the reverse. Such a sad reality.
We call on all people to pray, to raise their voices, and to join us in defending Mother Earth. Thank you for standing with us."
Source:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/10/apache-stronghold-supreme-court-again.html#SanCarlosApache #ChichilBildagoteel #WesternApaches #Fight4OurExistence #SacredLand #ReligiousLiberty #CensoredNews #Apache #ProtectOakFlat
#CopperMining #CorporateColonialism #SaveOakFlat #ProtectTheSacred #SCOTUS #SCOTUSIsCompromised #TontoNationalForest #ResolutionCopper #RioTinto -
'#OnondagaLake in New York State: Seventeenth Century Origins of a Superfund Site' - an article in the #EnvironmentAndSociety Collection of The Rachel Carson Center and The White Horse Press on #ScienceOpen:
📑🔗 https://www.scienceopen.com/document?vid=65d6c9df-bfcb-4495-923e-a90ff95a5a95
#EnvironmentalHistory #Haudenosaunee #IndigenousRights #DecolonizeHistory #SacredLand
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#SanCarlosApache Tribe welcomes Federal Court ruling delaying trade of sacred Oak Flat to Chinese-backed #ResolutionCopper
By San Carlos Apache Tribe, Censored News, June 9, 2025
#SanCarlosApacheNation, #Arizona — "The San Carlos Apache Tribe welcomes Friday’s federal court ruling preventing the Trump Administration from trading sacred Oak Flat to Chinese-backed Resolution #CopperMining no sooner than 60 days after the government releases an environmental report expected to be published later this month.
"The #Trump Administration had indicated that it intended to trade 2,422 acres of #TontoNationalForest 70 miles east of #PhoenixAZ that includes Oak Flat to Resolution Copper immediately upon publication of the mine’s updated environmental report.
U.S. District Court Judge Dominic W. Lanza’s order 'preclude(s) the United States Forest Service from proceeding with the challenged land exchange until 60 days after the issuance of the Final Environmental Impact Statement, which is anticipated to be issued on June 16.'
" 'We are grateful that Judge Lanza has provided us an opportunity to be heard,' said San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler. 'The two-month window provides the Tribe an opportunity to file an amended lawsuit challenging the legality of the pending environmental report and request an injunction to stop the land exchange until the merits of our case are settled.'
"The Oak Flat land transfer was mandated by a last-minute amendment to the FY2015 #NationalDefenseAuthorizationAct that was added by the late Arizona Senator #JohnMcCain and former Arizona Senator #JeffFlake. The land transfer provision, which failed to pass Congress in previous years, avoided the normal course of business and was not debated before it was added to the mustsign [#NDAA] defense spending bill that was signed into law by President Barack #Obama.
" 'The bill that authorized the land exchange is not in the best interest of the American people, Arizona or the San Carlos Apache Tribe,' Chairman Rambler stated. 'We have filed this lawsuit because of our concerns of the mine’s massive use of groundwater, which will be devastating for both Arizona
and eventually the Tribe. We are also deeply concerned about the environmental destruction and the obliteration of Oak Flat will have on Apache culture and religion.'"Resolution plans to collapse Oak Flat, known as Chi’chil Biłdagoteel in Apache, into a two-mile wide, 1,100-foot-deep crater. Chi’chil Biłdagoteel is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a Traditional Cultural Place.
"Resolution Copper is owned by Melbourne-based #BHP (45%) and London-based #RioTinto (55%), the two largest mining companies in the world. The Chinese state-owned Aluminum Corporation of China, which spearheads China’s acquisition of strategic minerals worldwide, is Rio Tinto’s single largest investor with a 14.6% stake. Both BHP and Rio Tinto rely on China for the majority of their revenue.
" 'We fully expect Resolution’s copper to be exported to China, which poses a national security threat,' Chairman Rambler said. “The United States already exports 30 percent of the copper produced by U.S. mines because of a lack of copper smelting capacity.
"'The Trump Administration’s Oak Flat appraisal concludes that Resolution’s copper will be exported to southeast Asia,' Chairman Rambler added. 'It’s clearly in the best interest of the United States to withhold publication of the Resolution environmental report at least until there is a change in the ownership of this project to companies that are not reliant on China for more than half their business.' "
Source:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/06/san-carlos-apache-tribe-federal-court.html#Fight4OurExistence #ProtectOakFlat #LandBack #sacredland #OakFlat
#SaveOakFlat #SanCarlosApache #Apache #ReligiousLiberty #NativeAmericans #FirstNations #CensoredNews #ReaderSupportedNews
#ProtectTheSacred #ApacheStronghold #NativeAmericanNews #NativeAmericans #RioTinto #CopperMining #Arizona #LeaveItInTheGround #ChichilBildagoteel #WesternApaches #BecketLaw #ResolutionCopper #USPol #MiningTheSacred #NationalForests #CorporateLandGrabs #CorporateColonialism #CulturalGenocide #McCainShame -
We live in a f*cked up world when #Republican #SCOTUS members are the only ones who do the right thing. WTF!
BREAKING! Supreme Court Refuses Plea to #ProtectOakFlat
#ApacheStronghold said it will continue the fight in the courts
#WendslerNosieSr. said, "While this decision is a heavy blow, our struggle is far from over. We urge Congress to take decisive action to stop this injustice while we press forward in the courts."By Becket Law, Censored News, May 27, 2025
WASHINGTON – "The Supreme Court today refused to protect a Western Apache sacred site, #OakFlat, from destruction by a Chinese-owned mining giant. In Apache Stronghold v. United States, a coalition of Apaches, other Native peoples, and non-Native allies will now continue to fight in court to
stop the government from transferring Oak Flat to #ResolutionCopper and turning the site into a massive mining
crater, ending Apache religious practices forever."#JusticeGorsuch, joined by #JusticeThomas, dissented from the Court’s refusal to hear the appeal,
saying that the Court’s 'decision to shuffle this case off our docket without a full airing is a grievous mistake—one with consequences that threaten to reverberate for generations.'"Since time immemorial, Western Apaches and other Native peoples have gathered at Oak Flat, outside of present-day Superior, Arizona, for sacred religious ceremonies that cannot take place anywhere else."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/05/supreme-court-refuses-plea-to-protect.htmlLink to PDF (with Gorsuch's full dissention):
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24-291_5i26.pdf
#Fight4OurExistence #SCOTUS #ProtectOakFlat #LandBack #sacredland #OakFlat
#SaveOakFlat #SanCarlosApache #Apache #ReligiousLiberty #NativeAmericans #FirstNations #CensoredNews #ReaderSupportedNews
#ProtectOakFlat #ProtectTheSacred #ApacheStronghold #NativeAmericanNews #NativeAmericans #RioTinto #CopperMining #Arizona #LeaveItInTheGround #ChichilBildagoteel #WesternApaches #BecketLaw -
#ApacheStronghold: Fight For Existence Podcast 'A Halted Land Transfer, A Continued Fight'
"U.S. #SupremeCourt: May 22 is the next possible date for considering the case
"The federal district court in Phoenix has issued an injunction, halting the land transfer of Apaches Ceremonial Place of Oak Flat -- which is targeted to be destroyed by a copper mine -- until the U.S. Supreme Court hears the case."
Source:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/05/apache-stronghold-fight-for-existence.htmlFight for Our Existence podcast, Episode 32 is now available!
Apache Stronghold: A Halted Land Transfer, A Continued Fight
Now streaming on all platforms!
https://linktr.ee/Fight4ourexistenceYT: https://www.youtube.com/@fight4ourexistencepodcast912
#Fight4OurExistence #SCOTUS #ProtectOakFlat #LandBack #NativePodcast #sacredland #OakFlat
#SaveOakFlat #SanCarlosApache
#Apache #ReligiousLiberty
#NativeAmericans #FirstNations #CensoredNews #ReaderSupportedNews
#ProtectOakFlat #ProtectTheSacred #ApacheStronghold #NativeAmericanNews #NativeAmericans #RioTinto #CopperMining #Arizona #LeaveItInTheGround #ChichilBildagoteel #WesternApaches #BecketLaw -
But Kristen Brengel, senior VP of govt affairs at the #NationalParks #Conservation Association, noted Roosevelt himself used the #law to #protect the huge swath of #land that later became #GrandCanyon National Park.
“He stood on the rim of the Grand Canyon & said he was going to protect it, & then he did,” she said.#Trump #SacredLand #NationalMonuments #PublicLands #habitats #ecosystems #wildlife #FossilFuels #ClimateChange #EnvironmentalLaw
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*#Conservatives* in Western states especially have long seen the president’s power to unilaterally set aside land as an example of federal overreach, w/many viewing it as a burdensome restriction on #mining & #drilling.
…During his confirmation hearing, Interior Secretary #DougBurgum said the #AntiquitiesAct is meant only for small, “Indiana Jones-type archeological” sites.🤦🏼♀️
#Trump #SacredLand #NationalMonuments #PublicLands #conservation #FossilFuels #ClimateChange #EnvironmentalLaw #law
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Signed into #law by President Theodore Roosevelt, the #AntiquitiesAct of 1906 gives presidents vast powers to #protect #lands & #waters through the creation of #NationalMonuments. But the law is quiet on whether presidents can remove designations set by their predecessors.
The Bureau of Land Management administers ~17k square miles of national monuments in the West….#Trump #SacredLand #PublicLands #conservation #habitats #ecosystems #wildlife #FossilFuels #ClimateChange #EnvironmentalLaw
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Other performance metrics include removing #protections for #EndangeredSpecies that have *recovered* & restoring “historic [racist] names” to #landmarks. On his first day back in office, #Trump stripped #NorthAmerica’s tallest mountain of its #Indigenous name, #Denali, & restored its previous title, Mount McKinley.
#SacredLand #NationalMonuments #PublicLands #conservation #habitats #ecosystems #wildlife #FossilFuels #ClimateChange #EnvironmentalLaw #law
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The draft strategic plan spells out the #Trump admin’s #Interior Dept’s priorities through 2030, which include increasing production of #FossilFuels, opening #lands in #Alaska & elsewhere to #minerals extraction, reducing grazing costs & trying to “release” federal holdings for housing #development.
#SacredLand #NationalMonuments #PublicLands #conservation #habitats #ecosystems #wildlife #ClimateChange #EnvironmentalLaw #law
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While #Interior ofcls declined to comment about any potential monument review, the approach was outlined in a “strategic plan draft framework” shared w/ WaPo. One of the dept’s “potential performance measures” going forward, acc/to the document, will be making sure #NationalMonuments are “assessed & *correctly* sized.”
#Trump #SacredLand #conservation #habitats #ecosystems #wildlife #FossilFuels #ClimateChange #EnvironmentalLaw #law
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“They opened up Grand Staircase under the previous [#Trump] administration & the #coal market did not rush in, the #oil & #gas market did not rush in, nobody rushed in,” said Tracy Stone-Manning, who led #Interior’s Bureau of #Land Management under #Biden. “There are plenty of #minerals elsewhere. This is about an #ideological battle.”
#SacredLand #conservation #habitats #ecosystems #wildlife #FossilFuels #ClimateChange #EnvironmentalLaw #law
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#Conservation & #Indigenous advocates argue that there is little demand to develop those resources & that the #NationalMonuments represent vital #ecological & #sacred cultural reserves that local communities fought for years to #protect.
#Trump #SacredLand #conservation #habitats #ecosystems #wildlife #FossilFuels #ClimateChange #EnvironmentalLaw #law
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#Interior aides are looking at whether to scale back at least 6 #NationalMonuments, said these individuals…. The list, they added, includes Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the #GrandCanyon, Ironwood Forest, Chuckwalla, Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, Bears Ears & Grand Staircase-Escalante—national monuments spread across #Arizona, #California, #NewMexico & #Utah.
#Trump #SacredLand #conservation #habitats #ecosystems #wildlife #FossilFuels #ClimateChange #EnvironmentalLaw #law