As copper mine fight continues, vandals strike sacred altar at Oak Flat

Debra Utacia Krol
Arizona Republic

Vandals struck a historic altar at Oak Flat, a site used for centuries by Apache peoples for prayer and ceremonies and one that is now at the center of a battle over a proposed copper mine.

It was the second time in three years that the altar was damaged and the leader of the grassroots group that has led the fight against the mine said he fears more such attacks against both cultural sites and people.

During an emotional call to The Arizona Republic Thursday evening, Wendsler Nosie, the head of Apache Stronghold, likened the destruction and desecration to similar attacks against places of worship, including the 1963 Birmingham church bombing which killed four school-age girls.

"We're in a war against what's evil in the world," Nosie, the former chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, said in a tearful voice. "This is like where in the South where they burned down churches." He added that religious people across the U.S. should be alarmed at this and other such attacks against houses of worship. 

A company owned by British and Australian interests wants to build a huge copper mine at the 2,200-acre site southeast of Phoenix. A federal judge heard arguments on Oct. 22 over the religious significance of the site and Arizona's two senators are facing pressure to stop the project.

Nosie said he was in Phoenix on Thursday to see an optometrist when he received a call he said he didn't want to hear again: Three of the four crosses that span the altar were thrown to the ground, and one was broken in two. Other items of worship, including abalone shells were strewn around the site, and a nearby staff used in ceremonies had also been thrown to the ground. 

In March 2018, two of the four crosses that mark the altar's border were taken, two more damaged and eagle feathers thrown to the ground.

One of three crosses vandalized at a traditional Apache altar lays on the ground the morning after the damage was discovered at Oak Flat, a campground that is part of the Tonto National Forest in Miami, Arizona, on October 29, 2021. The site, which is sacred to Apache and other Native peoples, is at risk of destruction by a land swap with the federal government to a copper mining company.

The Oak Flat altar desecration is part of an upward trend in incidents targeted at places of worship. The FBI reported that such incidents increased by 27% from 2014 to 2020.  Online news site Axios reported that crimes against churches, synagogues, mosques, Buddhist temples and other worship sites were on track to exceed 2020's numbers.

Friday morning, Nosie, surrounded by family and other Apache Stronghold members, had dried his tears but was still upset by the damage to the sacred site. 

A helicopter circled low overhead and another media crew flew a drone around the area, close to Resolution's mine head, which overlooks Oak Flat. 

Crosses at a traditional Apache altar lay on the ground the morning after it was discovered to be vandalized at Oak Flat, a campground that is part of the Tonto National Forest in Miami, Arizona, on October 29, 2021. The site, which is sacred to Apache and other Native peoples, is at risk of destruction by a land swap with the federal government to a copper mining company.

While a Republic reporter and photographer were at the scene, a Forest Service law enforcement officer came to the site. Nosie spoke to the officer about the incidents, which he called hate crimes. The officer said a special agent would be called to investigate. Soon another officer arrived. Apache Stronghold said an investigation started after the reporting team left.

September and October have been stressful for the 62-year-old Nosie, who has resided in Oak Flat since November 2019 to pray for its salvation from obliteration.

He said he has been shot at several times, most recently while preparing for a Sunrise Dance, the traditional coming-of-age ceremony for Apache girls, in late September. In that incident, Nosie said he had to pull a friend to safety as bullets whizzed overhead. The tepee he was residing in was stolen, and he had to remove a travel trailer from the campground after it was repeatedly vandalized. He said he has reported the incidents.

The campground, located about 60 miles east of Phoenix on Tonto National Forest land, has been at the heart of a more than 17-year-long struggle by Apache and other Southwestern Indigenous peoples to prevent the site from being given to a foreign mining company for a new copper mine. 

The mine would be built and operated by Resolution Copper, which is owned by British-Australian mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP. The firm offered other environmentally-sensitive land in exchange. Resolution said the project would bring about 3,700 jobs and $1 billion annually to Arizona’s economy. After Nosie and other activists blocked legislation for 10 years, the land swap was ultimately authorized by Congress in December 2014.

To obtain the copper ore, Resolution would use a method known as block cave mining, in which the ground beneath the ore body is excavated. The tunnels are then collapsed and the ore is transported through another tunnel to a crushing facility. The method is said to be cheaper than traditional shaft mining, which has occurred in the area off and on for more than 100 years. Eventually, the ground under Oak Flat will subside and create a crater about 1,000 feet deep and nearly 2 miles across. 

A Forest Service Law Enforcement officer, left, speaks with Wendsler Nosie Sr., leader of the Apache Stronghold, the morning after vandalism was discovered at a traditional Apache altar at Oak Flat, a campground that is part of the Tonto National Forest in Miami, Arizona, on October 29, 2021. The site, which is sacred to Apache and other Native peoples, is at risk of destruction by a land swap with the federal government to a copper mining company.

The U.S. Forest Service published the final environmental impact statement and draft decision for the copper mine and land swap on Jan. 15, five days before the end of the Trump administration. That move set off a 60-day clock during which the land swap could be finalized.  

On March 1, the Forest Service withdrew the statement and said it would reinitiate consultations with tribes.   

The attack against the altar came as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals weighs Apache Stronghold's lawsuit against the U.S. government to cancel the land deal. The group said its First Amendment religious rights would be substantially impeded by the destruction of Oak Flat. The court heard arguments Oct. 22 after a two-week "spiritual convoy" by Nosie and other Apache Stronghold's members from Oak Flat to San Francisco, where the court held the hearing. 

The week after the hearing, Apache Stronghold purchased billboards along Phoenix freeways in an effort to raise awareness of the issue and to put pressure on Arizona Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly, both Democrats, to rally support for a bill introduced by Arizona Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent, to repeal the land swap. 

That same week, Resolution bought online ads touting copper as essential to the nation's energy future.

Nosie said Friday the bill had been pulled from consideration to be put into infrastructure and budget reconciliation bills in Congress. Calls to Grijalva and to Rep. Tom O'Halleran, in whose district the campground lies, to confirm the bill was dead were not returned. 

John Scaggs, a spokesperson with Tonto National Forest, emailed a statement about the vandalism. He verified that a Forest Service law enforcement officer was sent to Oak Flat Friday morning to examine the vandalism and verify that private property was damaged.

The sun shines over water nearby Oak Flat, a campground that is part of the Tonto National Forest in Miami, Arizona, on October 29, 2021. The site, which is sacred to Apache and other Native peoples, is at risk of destruction by a land swap with the federal government to a copper mining company.

"The Forest Service is disappointed to hear of vandalism occurring on National Forest System lands and particularly saddened that it occurred on a Traditional Cultural Property," he wrote. "Tonto law enforcement continue to investigate the incident."

Holding back tears, Nosie said Apache Stronghold would hold a four-day wake for the crosses, which he said were "laying on the ground like humans that were murdered." A ceremony would be held to replace the crosses. 

Nosie is also worried about petroglyphs and other artifacts at Oak Flat which were uncovered during the Telegraph Fire. And, he said, he feared such incidents would increase after statements by the U.S.'s attorney during the hearing that the government-owned Oak Flat and could do as it pleased with the site no matter the religious impact. 

Arizona: Indigenous people face legal barriers to protect sacred spaces

Nosie said the incidents should be considered a wake-up call to tribes that their cultural sites on federal land are at risk. He also said there's a wider issue of fighting for clean water and air. "We can't eat what Resolution mines," he said. 

"Without water and air, we won't survive."

Debra Krol reports on Indigenous communities at the confluence of climate, culture and commerce in Arizona and the Intermountain West. Reach Krol at debra.krol@azcentral.com. Follow her on Twitter at @debkrol

Coverage of Indigenous issues at the intersection of climate, culture and commerce is supported by the Catena Foundation.

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