Ariz. mine plan at odds with Apache traditions

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A multinational firm wants to mine what's been called the largest untapped reserve of copper in the U.S. and possibly in the world.

SUPERIOR - Dorothy Ross often journeys to this wooded area in the Tonto National Forest to pray, harvest acorns and pick medicinal plants. She's made the trip since she was a child.

Assembled at the Oak Flat Campground, east of Superior, Ross and other elders of the San Carlos Apache Tribe said this area of the Pinal Mountains is sacred. God created their people at this site and gave them the land, they said.

Speaking collectively in their native language through an interpreter, Ross, Delores Jordan, Gertrude Waterman and Audrey Johnson said spirits living in the crevices and canyons provide blessings to the Apaches.

Tribal leaders traditionally have preferred to have healing ceremonies and purification rituals here.

"God created this area for us," the interpreter said, distilling the thoughts of the four women. "Since the beginning of time, this area was never restricted to us."

But the area also holds what's been called the largest untapped reserve of copper in the U.S. and possibly in the world. In a plan that includes the wider Oak Flat area, Resolution Copper Co., a joint venture of Anglo-Australian mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, wants to mine a deposit that's more than a mile below the surface.

With legislation pending in Congress to swap 2,400 acres of public land in the Tonto National Forest, including the Oak Flat Campground, for land elsewhere in the state, the plan pits leaders of the San Carlos Apache Tribe against supporters who say the mine would create sorely needed jobs and boost the state's economy.

The tribe's concerns extend to Apache Leap, a ridge looming over Superior. Indian skepticism about non-indian motives is captured by the legend of the cliff, where Apache warriors are said to have leapt to their deaths rather than surrender to the U.S. troops.

Although the area where the mine is planned doesn't include Apache Leap, tribal leaders worry that the operation would undermine the area and damage the cliff. More than just Apache Leap, the elders said, the tribe's concerns extend to the welfare of a general area that members consider theirs in spirit, if not on paper.

"This was the home of the Apache people," said Wendsler Nosie Sr., chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe. "God blessed this site of the world and told us of the importance of returning back to this place where the acorn gives us the acorn powder, which feeds and nourishes us."

American Indians often view the entire area surrounding a sacred site as holy, said James Riding In, an associate professor of American Indian studies at Arizona State University. As a result, economic interests such as mining operations, ranching, ski resorts and tourism are often at odds with native beliefs.

"Non-Indians often don't understand Indian perspectives about sacredness of the land," he said. "Small Indian nations are often pitted against a government that protects economic interests, usually at the expense of Indian spirituality."

A spokesman said Resolution Copper has tried to address tribal concerns in its plan. He produced letters showing efforts to contact the San Carlos Apache leadership and other tribes in the region.

In a phone interview, Mary Lee Johns, senior adviser on tribal government for Rio Tinto, one of the companies with an ownership stake in Resolution Copper, said company officials have made tribal concerns paramount, even though by law the federal government is responsible for consulting with tribes.

"We have tremendous respect for sacred areas, demonstrated by the work we have done in other countries," Johns said. "We'd like to sit down with all the Arizona tribes to develop an agreement."

In April, the San Carlos Apache Tribe sent a letter asking the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to support its efforts to protect Oak Flat and Apache Leap.

"We've been kicked every which way, and this is why we are filing human-rights violations," Nosie said. "These important things that make a people are being undermined."