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Oak Flat in the Tonto National Forest is considered a sacred, ancestral place to the San Carlos Apache but it also home to a huge copper deposit. With the passage of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act in December, mining company Resolution Copper will swap about eight miles of land they currently own for nearly four miles of land in the Tonto National Forest including Oak Flat. The company plans to mine copper, which the Apache say will destroy land precious to the tribe. Join us as we explore the impacts the Oak Flat land swap will have on national defense and cultural practices.
Guests:
Tara Kitcheyan – spokesperson for Resolution Copper
Break Music: On The Road Missing Home (song), Sheldon Sundown (artist), Hand DrumSmoke N’ Round Dance (album)
What time?
Hi Judy, we air live at 1PM EST. If you can’t catch the show, we archive it here on our website afterwords.
I was sadly underwhelmed by Tara Kitcheyan. I found her stance weak and her justifications for advocating the copper mine vague and flimsy, and as poorly formed as they were she certainly leaned on them to an embarrassingly repetitive degree. She never made any specific citations to the “teachings from time immemorial” she kept referring to in defense of her view that the land “is not sacred.” Furthermore, she really didn’t answer any of the questions from callers head on, opting for evasive platitudes, and patronizingly thanking everyone for sharing their heartfelt objections. Honestly, she sounded every bit like a dishonest politician. All that being said, my heart still went out to her–she seems deeply in denial about the devastating spiritual impact her employer is having on the people of her tribe. I wish her a great deal of personal reckoning.
Glad to see this going forward. More jobs for Arizonans. Glad we are still supporting the 5 C’s in AZ.