Right now, the Trump administration is rushing to approve a mining contract in the Chí’chil Biłdagoteel Historic District of Arizona, a high desert oasis considered sacred to multiple tribes.
This contract would transfer ownership of 2,422 acres of sacred land to — and we can’t make this up — Rio Tinto’s Resolution Copper Mining, a UK-Australian mining company notorious for destroying Juukan Gorge, a treasured 46,000-year-old Aboriginal site.
It’s despicable, but it’s not surprising. Decades of profit-first policy have privileged the interests of multinational corporations over those of Indigenous communities. We can’t trust Rio Tinto or the Trump administration to ensure this land gets the protections it requires. Congress has got to act quickly and pass the Save Oak Flat Act — and YOU can help.