Apache Stronghold v. USA, et al

  1. June 24, 2022

    Mining Project On Sacred Apache Land Lawful, 9th Circ. Says

    Plans to tap nearly 2 trillion tons of copper ore on federal land in Arizona may proceed, after the Ninth Circuit ruled Friday that the mining project does not violate a local Apache group's religious liberty despite preventing its members from accessing a sacred site in the area.

  2. July 09, 2021

    Native American Cases To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2021

    Native American law practitioners are anticipating developments in clashes over pipeline projects affecting tribal lands, white farmers' challenges in multiple federal courts to American Rescue Plan funding for minority farmers, and a fight over the environmental and religious rights fallout from a proposed Arizona copper mine.

  3. June 25, 2021

    Ariz. Apache Group's Atty Says US Repeats 'Tragic Injustice'

    Apache Stronghold, a San Carlos Apache nonprofit, told the Ninth Circuit that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's approved land swap for a copper mine violates multiple laws related to religious liberty, highlighting how the mine would destroy sacred sites.

  4. May 18, 2021

    USDA Says Apache Religious Rights Can't Block Copper Mine

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture has urged the Ninth Circuit to reject an Apache nonprofit's bid to block a land swap for the Resolution Copper mine in Arizona, saying the group's practice of religion in the Oak Flat area doesn't trump the government's authority to make the move.

  5. March 26, 2021

    Tribal, Religious Groups Back Apache Bid To Halt Copper Mine

    Native American groups, religious groups and legal scholars have urged the Ninth Circuit to block the federal government's planned transfer of sacred tribal land in Arizona, saying the destruction of the site for the Resolution Copper mine project would run roughshod over an Apache group's religious rights.

  6. March 19, 2021

    Apaches Push 9th Circ. To Halt Copper Mine Land Exchange

    Nonprofit group Apache Stronghold has pressed the Ninth Circuit to prevent the federal government from transferring sacred land in Arizona to the Resolution Copper mine venture, saying the federal government's decision to extend an environmental review of the project doesn't guarantee the mine won't go forward.

  7. March 08, 2021

    Split 9th Circ. Refuses Apache Bid To Stop Land Transfer

    A split Ninth Circuit panel refused to forbid the federal government from transferring land sacred to Western Apaches to a copper mining project, finding the government's rescission of a key environmental review for the project sufficiently protects the Apache nonprofit's interests for the time being.

  8. March 03, 2021

    Apaches Seek 9th Circ. Assurance Against Mine Land Transfer

    An Apache nonprofit pushed the Ninth Circuit again Wednesday for an order preventing the federal government from transferring sacred land for a mine project, brushing aside a recent move from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to rescind an important environmental impact statement issued by the former Trump administration on its way out the door.

  9. March 01, 2021

    USDA Rescinds Environmental Decision On Ariz. Copper Mine

    The federal government said Monday that it is withdrawing a last-minute Trump administration environmental impact statement regarding a land swap for the Resolution Copper mine project in Arizona, only hours before its deadline to reply to an Apache nonprofit's emergency Ninth Circuit appeal.