A Call From the Apache Stronghold

Dr. Wendsler Nosie, Sr., a leader of the Apache Stronghold in Arizona, will speak in Summit this Sunday, September 21, about his role in the 20-plus year fight to protect Oak Flat, a sacred site to the San Carlos Apache and other Native American tribes.

Dr. Nosie's featured speech at 1 p.m. at Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit is the fourth stop in the nationwide Defend The Holy tour aimed at preventing the multi-national Resolution Copper company from mining Oak Flat's massive copper deposit, which will leave a two-mile crater where the sacred ground now stands. Oak Flat is a two-hour drive east of Phoenix.

Speaking in Oakland, Los Angeles, Chicago and now New Jersey, Dr. Nosie seeks support for the religious freedom case he is pressing against the U.S. government. The Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalist Association have filed amicus briefs in the case, charging that environmental impacts would include ground-water contamination, air pollution and destruction of nearby wildlife.

Resolution Copper and its parent company Rio Tinto are largely owned by the Aluminum Corporation of China.

"This is not only a Native American issue," said Rev. Dr. Robin Tanner, Lead Ministry Team at Beacon UU. "Oak Flat goes to the heart of religious freedom. My faith teaches that the earth is sacred, and we are interdependent. Oak Flat is also our fight. We are imploring the Supreme Court to hear this case."

For full information on Oak Flat and the Defend the Holy Tour, visit https://bit.ly/DefendtheHolyTour