Oak Flat (Chi'chil Bildagoteel): 2014 land exchange, Apache Stronghold litigation and the March 2026 transfer

What happened

This is a context entry, not an adjudicated treaty violation. The 1852 Treaty with the Apache, signed at Santa Fe, promised "perpetual peace and amity" between the Apache and the United States. In Article 9 the United States agreed to "designate, settle, and adjust their territorial boundaries." Apache Stronghold argued in court that the mine would violate the religious freedom of Apache people who consider Oak Flat an important religious site.

In 2014 Sen. John McCain added a provision to a defense bill that let the federal government swap 2,422 acres of the Tonto National Forest to Resolution Copper. KJZZ reports that the Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Apache Stronghold, a nonprofit group that tried to block the transfer. Eos adds that Apache Stronghold had argued the mine would violate the First Amendment rights of Indigenous people who consider Oak Flat a religious site. KJZZ says Oak Flat is a site the San Carlos Apache Tribe considers sacred, and that a federal appeals court denied tribes' and activists' request for an injunction three days before the transfer.

On March 16, 2026, KJZZ reported that more than 2,400 acres had been transferred to Resolution Copper. The Sierra Club and other opponents say the legal fight is not over. Because litigation is ongoing and a later development could change this picture, readers should check current news.

Good to know. No court has accepted a treaty claim over Oak Flat, and the legal fight is still developing.

Summarized with AI assistance from 3 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error