San Carlos Apache Chairman Testifies at Senate Hearing

San Carlos Apache Tribal Chairman Terry Rambler told a Senate committee yesterday (Wednesday) that the proposed Resolution Copper Mine near Superior would desecrate land his tribe considers sacred.

Cronkite News reports that Rambler told the committee  that the Tonto National Forest land is used for ceremonial dances and to gather medicinal plants. He said desecrating the land would violate the tribe’s freedom of religion.

Rambler was testifying against a bill by Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake that would swap 2,400 acres of US Forest Service land for 5,300 acres of environmentally valuable land owned by Resolution to clear the way for the mining operations.

Rambler says respecting the San Carlos Apache Tribe’s sacred sites is a national issue. He submitted a list of tribes from 25 states that oppose the land exchange.

Supporters say the mine could provide up to 25% of the country’s copper supply and create as many as 1,400 jobs.

But officials with the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management also testified against the bill in its current form. That’s because the bill would let the land swap go through before requiring Resolution to complete the environmental review process.

Resolution officials say they will have to go through the environmental review process anyway, because the mine will be surrounded by the Tonto National Forest.