US Supreme Court deals blow to Apache Stronghold in Oak Flat case
Supporters are being urged to take part in an upcoming vigil or plan their own
LOUISVILLE — Supporters of protecting sacred land that’s in danger of being converted into a copper mining operation in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest are being encouraged to hold vigils and to pray in the coming days, following a blow from the U.S. Supreme Court.
The nation’s highest court announced this week that it would not hear a case brought by Apache Stronghold, a grassroots group trying to keep the land known as Oak Flat, or Chí’chil Biłdagoteel, from being turned over to Resolution Copper, a foreign mining company.
Apache Stronghold, a coalition of Apaches, other Native peoples and non-native allies, filed a formal request with the Supreme Court last year asking for justices to review a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision against the group.
This week’s rejection is the second time this year that the Supreme Court has refused to take up the case, but Apache Stronghold plans to continue trying to save the land, which is used by Native Americans for worship and sacred ceremonies.
“While this decision is deeply disappointing, the fight to protect Oak Flat is far from over,” Apache Stronghold said in a statement on social media. “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.”
Meanwhile, Eileen Schuhmann, Associate for Global Engagement and Resources for the Presbyterian Hunger Program, said, “It’s important that people not lose hope and that people continue to walk in solidarity with all those who are working to protect Oak Flat. ... Right now, I’m in Navajo land and the Diné people say that to know the land is to know the people and to know the people is to know the land, and so when we destroy these landscapes, we are also destroying the people, and it's so important that we continue the struggle to protect these lands and to protect these people.”
The Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery is asking supporters to join with a delegation of multidenominational faith leaders for a livestreamed vigil at Oak Flat at 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Indigenous Peoples' Day, which is Monday, Oct. 13.
That coalition also is requesting that “echo vigils” be held around the country from Oct. 11 to Oct. 20 “to weave a web of prayer throughout time and space.”
Those echo vigils can take various forms, from bringing friends together for a vigil and viewing of the livestream to incorporating a prayer for Oak Flat into a pre-existing gathering.
“Together we will offer our prayers and spiritual energy to stop this tragic turnover,” the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery said in a news release. “Let’s embody our spiritual practice and faith in action, across traditions and communities, affirming that our compassion includes all beings and the Earth herself.”
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump spoke out against efforts to delay the mining project, saying "Radical Left Activists" were putting jobs on the line.
The campaign to save Oak Flat has long captured the hearts and attention of activists and faith groups, including Presbyterians.
“As people of faith, we are deeply grieved by the Supreme Court’s decision to deny the reconsideration of the Apache Stronghold’s case in their sacred struggle to protect Oak Flat,” said the Rev. Christina Cosby, Representative for Domestic and Environmental Policy Concerns for the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness in Washington, D.C. “This land is not only sacred to the Apache people, but it is also a living sanctuary, a place of worship, ceremony, and connection to the Creator.”
Cosby added, “The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) stands in solidarity with all who defend the sacred, and we lament this failure to uphold religious freedom for Indigenous communities. Our call to justice compels us to walk alongside the Apache Stronghold, not only in prayer, but in action, until their sacred sites are honored and protected.”
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