皇冠体育app官网平台

WASHINGTON, D.C.  — The transfer of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper, a joint venture of the world’s two largest foreign mining entities, BHP and Rio Tinto, ignores the religious and cultural rights of the San Carlos Apache and other Indigenous communities and threatens wildlife habitat and Arizona's water supply. Chi’chil Bi艂dagoteel, also known as Oak Flat, is part of the ancestral homelands of the San Carlos Apache, the Yavapai, Hopi, Zuni, and many other Tribes in the Southwest. 

“Tribal sovereignty is nonnegotiable — and so are the religious and cultural rights of the San Carlos Apache and other Indigenous communities,” said Daisy Purdy, vice president at National Wildlife Federation. “Developing a copper mine at Chi’chil Bi艂dagoteel is unacceptable. The administration must reverse course and recommit to respecting Tribal sovereignty and trust responsibilities, honoring Treaty rights, engaging in Free Prior and Informed Consent, and ensuring responsible stewardship of Indigenous cultural and religious sites.”

“Handing over Oak Flat to a Chinese-backed company isn’t just bad policy—it’s a national security risk. This mine would drain Arizona’s groundwater, repeating the same mistakes we saw with Saudi companies extracting water to grow alfalfa for export. 皇冠体育app官网平台’s public lands and water should never be up for grabs by foreign governments,” said Camilla Simon, executive director of HECHO.