#tontonationalforest — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #tontonationalforest, aggregated by home.social.
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#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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#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 -
“If they take #OakFlat, they destroy our #religion & who we are,” said Vanessa Nosie, an archaeology aide for the #SanCarlosApacheTribe who also helps her father lead a nonprofit fighting the mine. Lozen, she added, is “dancing to carry the fight for all we’re trying to save.”
#conservation #law #ChíchilBiłDagoteel #Apache #SacredLands #TontoNationalForest #mining #ApacheStronghold #NativeAmericanLands #HistoricPlace #Arizona #ApacheLeap
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#Mining #OakFlat, however, would eventually transform the landscape, creating what geologists say would be a vast crater. To prevent this, the tribe & other opponents of the mine have filed multiple lawsuits & tried unsuccessfully to get one of the cases heard before #SCOTUS. A federal appeals court will hold a hearing for several of the suits in early January.
#conservation #law #ChíchilBiłDagoteel #Apache #SacredLands #TontoNationalForest #ApacheStronghold #NativeAmericanLands #Arizona
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The company #ResolutionCopper believes there are 20 million tons of #copper under #OakFlat that could supply up to ¼ of the US copper demand over 40 years. At today’s prices, experts say that much copper would be worth about $200 billion. The company asserts it will create more than a thousand jobs in an area with high unemployment.
#conservation #law #ChíchilBiłDagoteel #Apache #SacredLands #TontoNationalForest #mining #ApacheStronghold #NativeAmericanLands #Arizona #SanCarlosApacheTribe
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What worried many of those who came to this mesa in mountainous southern #Arizona in early October was the very real possibility that this Sunrise Dance might be the last one at #OakFlat.
Oak Flat sits on one of North America’s largest undeveloped deposits of #copper. The mineral is used in dozens of items, including smartphones, electric vehicles & solar panels.
#conservation #law #ChíchilBiłDagoteel #Apache #SacredLands #TontoNationalForest #mining #ApacheStronghold #NativeAmericanLands
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Surrounded by a hundred family & fellow tribal members, dancers, singers & medicine men, she would perform the Sunrise Dance, reenacting part of the #Apache creation story. At the end, after she had been daubed in clay to represent the mythological mother of all Apaches & ritually cleansed, Lozen would emerge as a young woman.
#law #conservation #ChíchilBiłDagoteel #SacredLands #ApacheStronghold #TontoNationalForest #NativeAmericanLands #Arizona #SanCarlosApacheTribe #ApacheLeap #mining
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[Film] The #ApacheStronghold defending #sacred #OakFlat land from a #CopperMine
The Real News Network
May 21, 2024"In the heart of the #Arizona high desert lies a battle for the soul of the land. The ancient, sacred grounds of #Apache #Native territory are under threat from a looming giant — a massive copper mine that promises riches for the locals, and a pathway to the so-called green transition. But, as is often the case, it comes at a cost.
"The #SanCarlosApache tribe calls it Chi’chil Bildagoteel; English speakers call it Oak Flat. It sits on a mountainous plateau within a 17.3-kilometer oasis in the #TontoNationalForest. #RioTinto and #BHP, two of the world’s biggest mining companies, have staked their claim here through a joint venture called #ResolutionCopper. For over 10 years they’ve been lobbying governments for the right to build a colossal mine that would cover roughly 7,000 acres of surface area, and extend more than a mile into the ground.
"The only thing that stands in their way is the #resistance of the Apache Stronghold, a nonprofit community organization of #Natives and non-Natives uniting to counter ongoing #colonization, defend holy sites and protect freedom of religion, which was created to protect Chi’chil Bildagoteel.
"A short film by #BrandiMorin and #GeordieDay for #RicochetMedia. Support for this journalism provided by #CulturalSurvival."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCIGlv0xu_U
#ChichilBildagoteel #RioTinto #CopperMine #SanCarlosApache #Arizona #ProtectOakFlat #protectthesacred #DefendTheSacred #IndigenousActivism #SCOTUS #SaveOakFlat
#WaterIsLife #SacredSite #CopperMining #RecycleCopper #MiningWithoutConsent
#ProtectTheSacred #CulturalGenocide #Ecocide #NativeAmericanNews
#IndigenousNews
#Greenwashing #NoMiningWithoutConsent #CorporateColonialism -
via #CensoredNews
New Film! #ApacheStronghold Protecting #OakFlat from #CopperMine
The #Apache stronghold standing in the way of a copper mine that would desecrate a #SacredSite
By Ricochet Media
Watch now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZucwkizByk"In the heart of the #Arizona high desert lies a battle for the soul of the land. The ancient, sacred grounds of Apache Native territory are under threat from a looming giant — a massive copper mine that promises riches for the locals, and a pathway to the so-called green transition. But, as is often the case, it comes at a cost.
"The #SanCarlosApache tribe calls it Chi’chil Bildagoteel, English speakers call it Oak Flat. It sits on a mountainous plateau within a 17.3-kilometer oasis in the #TontoNationalForest. Rio Tinto and #BHP, two of the world’s biggest mining companies, have staked their claim here through a joint venture called #ResolutionCopper.
"For over 10 years they’ve been lobbying governments for the right to build a colossal #mine that would cover roughly 7,000 acres of surface area, and extend more than a mile into the ground. The only thing that stands in their way is the resistance of the Apache Stronghold, a nonprofit community organization of Natives and non-Natives uniting to counter ongoing colonization, defend holy sites and protect freedom of religion, which was created to protect Chi’chil Bildagoteel.
Read the full story on Ricochet Media. https://ricochet.media/indigenous/brandi-morin-the-apache-stronghold-standing-in-the- way-of-a-massive-copper-mine/
at May 14, 2024https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/05/new-film-apache-stronghold-protecting.html
#SaveOakFlat #RioTinto #ReaderSupportedNews #RichochetMedia #BrandiMorin #Cree #NativeAmericanNews #IndigenousNews #Greenwashing #NoMiningWithoutConsent #CopperMine