We urge that members of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues support our claim to protect holy and sacred sites and places that are important to the religious practices and access to these areas, such as Oak Flat and Apache Leap that support our daily life ways.
Vernelda Grant, a member of the San Carlos Apache Nation, speaking before the United Nations in 20101“Statement to U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York,” Vernelda Grant, April 28, 2010. https://intercontinentalcry.org/san-carlos-apache-nation-calls-for-removal-of-resolution-copper/
Representatives of the San Carlos Apache Nation have testified twice before the United Nations on this issue. Several articles of UNDRIP support their case. Article 25 solidifies the right of indigenous peoples such as the San Carlos Apache to “maintain and strengthen their distinctive spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned or otherwise occupied and used lands… and to uphold their responsibilities to future generations in this regard.”
That is the heart of the issue at Oak Flat. Today’s Apache refuse to sit idly by as their sacred land is taken from their grandchildren, just as it was taken from their grandparents decades ago. Clearly, those appeals made no difference to the United States, as the Resolution Copper transfer bill was passed after both testimonies, and the UN was unable to stop it.
