The court declined an appeal against the congressional action from 2014.
The Supreme Court issued a decision this week that will allow the federal government to continue its transfer of 2,400 acres of national forest to a copper-mining company.
Congress approved the transfer of the land in Tonto National Forest in 2014, allowing Resolution Copper to construct a two-mile-wide crater to access a copper deposit in Oak Flat, Arizona. Because the massive copper deposit sits under a Native American sacred site, the Western Apache sued the federal government to stop the land transfer in 2021, claiming that the sale violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The majority of the Supreme Court left in place a lower court ruling to allow the land transfer to go through.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, whose rulings have long supported Native American rights, dissented, calling the court’s refusal to review the case a “grievous mistake — one with consequences that threaten to reverberate for generations.”
“Faced with the government’s plan to destroy an ancient site of tribal worship, we owe the Apaches no less” than a consideration of their legal arguments, wrote Justice Gorsuch, who was joined by Justice Clarence Thomas. “They may live far from Washington, D.C., and their history and religious practices may be unfamiliar to many. But that should make no difference.”
Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from the case.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For the Supreme Court justices as they finish their considerations of oral arguments and issue opinions on outstanding cases.
- For President Trump and members of his administration as they seek to increase domestic production of minerals and energy.
Sources: The Washington Post, CNN
