Document Type

Brief

Publication Date

3-25-2021

Abstract

No. 21-15295
Apache Stronghold v. United States of America

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, Honorable Steven P. Logan (2:21-cv-00050-PHX-SPL)

From the Summary of the Argument

Meaningful access to sacred sites is a necessary part of the religious exercise of many Indigenous peoples. But tribes have been repeatedly denied such access by the federal government, and thus repeatedly thwarted in their efforts to engage in these important religious practices. In many instances, that access has been irrevocably denied and those efforts permanently thwarted by the total destruction of Indigenous sacred sites. Indeed, the colonial, state, and federal governments of this Nation have been desecrating and destroying Native American sacred sites since before the Republic was formed. Now Chi’chil Biłdagoteel, called Oak Flat in English, is at risk of suffering the same fate, a risk the Government fully acknowledges.

Comments

Amici are the National Congress of American Indians, a Tribal Elder, other Native American cultural heritage and rights organizations, and Federal Indian Law Scholars. Amici submit this brief to highlight the history of the U.S. Government’s seizure of Indigenous lands and scared sites, the substantial burden posed by the destruction of Oak Flat, the lack of a compelling government interest, and Rio Tinto’s recent history of desecrating Indigenous sacred sites.

Table of Authorities include:

Stephanie Hall Barclay & Michalyn Steele, Rethinking Protections for Indigenous Sacred Sites, 134 Harv. L. Rev. 1294 (2021).

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