Government Greenlights Foreign-Backed Plan Threatening Sacred Ground

In the Arizona desert, there is a place called Oak Flat. To some, it may just look like open land. But to the Apache people, Oak Flat is holy ground. It is where they pray, where they hold ceremonies, and where they have gone for generations to be close to God. It is a place of worship, just like a church or a temple. Yet today, this sacred land is under threat—not from vandals or natural disasters, but from our own government.

The federal government has approved a plan to give Oak Flat to a mining company called Resolution Copper. This company is backed by foreign interests, including Chinese investors. Their plan is to build a massive copper mine, one so large that it would destroy Oak Flat forever. Trees will be torn down. Rocks and soil will be dug up. The land will be left in ruins—unfit for prayer, unfit for anything sacred.

Let us be clear: this is not just about mining. This is about religious freedom. This is about whether we, as a nation, still believe that all faiths matter. The Apache people are not asking for money. They are not asking for special treatment. They are asking to keep their sacred land so they can worship God as they have always done.

The law is supposed to protect religious freedom. In 1993, Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or RFRA. It says the government cannot burden someone’s religious practice unless it has a very good reason. And even then, the government must choose the path that causes the least harm. Destroying Oak Flat is not the path of least harm. It is the path of greatest destruction.

Yet, when the Apache Stronghold—a group of Apache tribal members—went to court to stop this land exchange, they were turned away. A federal judge said that because the land is not officially set aside for religious use, the government’s actions do not count as a burden. That is nonsense. If the same thing were done to a church or a synagogue, people would be outraged. But because this is Native American land, some in power seem to think it doesn’t matter.

Thankfully, not everyone is blind to this injustice. Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Clarence Thomas both said the Supreme Court should have heard the case. They understood that if we let the government bulldoze a sacred site today, then no place of worship is safe tomorrow.

Some say this mining project is good for the economy. They say we need the copper. But even if that were true, we must ask: at what cost? Are we willing to sell out our values for a few more dollars? Are we so desperate for foreign investors, including from China, that we would destroy our own holy places to please them?

President Trump has worked hard to defend religious freedom and to fight anti-Christian bias in the federal government. That same courage and clarity must now be shown here. The Apache are Americans. Their faith matters. Their voices should be heard.

We must remember what makes this country great. It is not just our wealth or our power. It is our belief that all people are equal under God, and that no person should be forced to choose between their faith and their future.

Oak Flat is not just land. It is sacred ground. To destroy it is to wound the soul of our nation. But the good news is this: it is not too late. The courts still have a chance to act. The administration can still stop the land transfer. And we, the people, can still speak out.

Let us stand for what is right. Let us be a nation that protects the sacred, honors the faithful, and refuses to sell our soul for copper.