"'So much has been taken': Apache women sue to halt land swap for Oak Flat copper mine", 29 July 2025

A group of Apache women asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., to halt a disputed land exchange at the center of a long battle over plans to build a huge copper mine at Oak Flat.

It's the fourth lawsuit that seeks to stop the U.S. Forest Service from signing over title to the site, held sacred by Apache peoples and culturally significant by other tribes...

The suit claims the exchange violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the plaintiffs' First Amendment-guaranteed religious rights protections and two environmental laws...

The women asking the court to halt the exchange each issued personal statements about what Oak Flat meant to them spiritually, how they pass religious and cultural teachings to their own children and why the site should be preserved...

Resolution said the site has the potential to become one of America's biggest copper mines. A spokesperson for the company said the mine would contribute $1 billion annually to the state economy and provide thousands of jobs in the Copper Triangle...

To obtain the copper ore, Resolution, which is owned by multinational firms Rio Tinto and BHP, will use a method known as block cave mining... Eventually, the ground will subside, leaving behind a crater about 1,000 feet deep and nearly 2 miles across where Oak Flat and its religious and environmental significance now stand...

The federal government asked why it took the group so long to file a suit...

Resolution said that federal courts have all sided with the government and the copper mine to allow the project to move forward...

"The federal government’s participation in the intentional and needless destruction of an irreplaceable Native American sacred site violates multiple federal laws and the U.S. Constitution," a spokesperson for law firm Nelson Mullins told The Arizona Republic...

Lopez said the threat to Oak Flat is a threat to her ability to practice Apache religion and pass her religion to her daughters. "This is one of the few sacred places we have left that is still alive," she said...