FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, March 1, 2021
Contacts: Dr. Wendsler Nosie, Sr. Apache Stronghold, [email protected], (928) 200-7762
Michael V. Nixon, J.D., [email protected], (503) 522-4257
FOREST SERVICE PUTS SACRED OAK FLAT LAND GIVEAWAY ON TEMPORARY HOLD âFOR SEVERAL MONTHS.â
OAK FLAT, Ariz. â The Forest Service announced this morning that it will ârescindâ January 15, 2021, Final Environmental Impact Statement which triggered the 60 day time clock to the Oak Flat giveaway. But the Forest Service added that âconsultations such as this generally take several months.â
âThey are just attempting a temporary strategic retreat,â said Apache Stronghold leader and former San Carlos Apache Tribal Chairman Dr. Wendsler Nosie, Sr. âthey still intend to try and give away our sacred land.â
Apache Stronghold attorney Luke Goodrich from Becket Law said, âThe Government just announced it is rescinding the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Oak Flatâsix hours before its deadline to reply to Apache Strongholdâs emergency appeal. This is no coincidence. The Government knows the destruction of Oak Flat violates federal law. It knows it canât justify it in court. So it is retreatingâtemporarily. But a temporary retreat doesnât solve the problem. The Government is still planning on transfer and destruction of Oak Flat. Oak Flat still needs legal protection. And if the Government is acting in good faith, it should not oppose a court order protecting Oak Flat while the litigation proceeds.â
The U.S. District Court did find that â[t]he spiritual importance of Oak Flat to the Western Apaches cannot be overstatedâ and that the impending destruction of Oak Flat âwill completely devastate the Western Apachesâ spiritual lifeblood.â However, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals still needs to overturn the inappropriate District Court ruling that the Apache have no Constitutional religious rights protections and that the U.S. Government has no Trust Responsibility to the Apache even though their Treaty of 1852 guarantees the Apache âprosperity and happiness.â
âOak Flat is still on death row,â said Apache Stronghold attorney Michael Nixon, âThe Forest Serviceâs announcement is welcome but doesnât have much real meaning because they are just changing the execution date so they can coerce and pressure the Apache some more. It is unconscionable.â
After destroying the Juukan Gorge sacred site in Australia on May 20, 2020, this past summer, on December 9, 2020, Rio Tinto Chairman Simon Thompson promised, âAs a business, we are committed to learning from this event to ensure the destruction of heritage sites of such exceptional archaeological and cultural significance never occurs again.â
Todayâs announcement does nothing to change the fact that Rio Tinto and the Forest Service still intend on giving away Oak Flat. They are just trying to tap the breaks a bit as they still move to their goal of repeating their Juukan Gorge travesty at Oak Flat.
More info at: http://apache-stronghold.com/about-us.html ; Instagram: @protectoakflat ; Twitter: @SaveOakFlat .
Source: Radical-guide.com