This month, the Supreme Court made a pivotal and deeply disappointing decision that could erode America’s foundational commitment to religious liberty and hand important resources over to our enemies. By refusing to hear Apache Stronghold v. United States, the Court has chosen to sidestep a critical case, and in doing so, it risks not only Americans’ sacred constitutional freedoms but also our nation’s strategic interests at a time when Beijing’s long shadow looms larger than ever.
At the center of this case lies Oak Flat, a historic and spiritual landmark in Arizona where the Western Apache and other tribes have worshipped for generations. For the Apache, Oak Flat is more than land; it is the heartbeat of their faith, integral to their religious identity and sacred ceremonies. Yet, without intervention, this treasured site will soon be obliterated, replaced by a mining crater two miles wide and over 1,000 feet deep.
The sun sets over Oak Flat Campground, a sacred site for Native Americans located 70 miles east of Phoenix, on June 3, 2023, in Miami, Arizona. (AP Photo/Ty O’Neil)
Soleil Davignon picks berries for her coming of age ceremony on Oak Flat Campground, a sacred site for Native Americans located 70 miles east of Phoenix, on June 3, 2023, in Miami, Arizona. (AP Photo/Ty O’Neil)
A tractor-trailer carrying supplies to the Resolution Copper Mining Company approaches the mine’s main entrance, on June 9, 2023, in Miami, Arizona. (AP Photo/Matt York)
This travesty is poised to occur because corporate mining interests snuck an unpopular amendment into a must-pass defense bill handing over Oak Flat—and over a hundred billion dollars’ worth of copper beneath it—to Resolution Copper, an operation heavily intertwined with the Chinese Communist Party, in exchange for less than ten million dollars’ worth of land elsewhere.
Make no mistake, this case is about more than a terrible rip-off. It’s about whether this country values religious liberty even when it conflicts with corporate interests and whether our federal government is more committed to standing up for our principles or selling them to Beijing for a pittance. By declining to hear the Apaches’ appeal, the Supreme Court has turned its back on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a federal law which demands that no American’s religious practice should be “substantially burdened” without an extraordinarily compelling reason.
The Resolution Copper Mining area shaft #9 and shaft #10 lie idle in Superior, Arizona., on June 15, 2015. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
An Apache activist dancer performs in a rally to save Oak Flat, Arizona, in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on July 22, 2015. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)
A Apache Stronghold activist takes part in a rally to save Oak Flat, Arizona, in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on July 22, 2015. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)
How is it that the courts concluded the bulldozing of a sacred site somehow doesn’t qualify as a burden on faith? Justice Neil Gorsuch, in a pointed dissent joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, summed it up bluntly, imagining the outcry if the government demolished an iconic Christian cathedral on such flimsy legal footing. He’s entirely correct. If this precedent stands, virtually no religious activity conducted on federal land will be shielded from harm.
This isn’t hyperbole. Just last year, the government used this tangled legal reasoning to block a Memorial Day Mass at a national cemetery in Virginia. Think of what else could be at risk under this precedent. Churches in national parks, such as the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached, or cherished missions across the West, all could fall into jeopardy. The failure to hear this case sets a dangerous stage for further government overreach into religious life.
Members of Apache and others who want to halt a massive copper mining project on federal land in Arizona gather outside the U.S. District Court on May 7, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
San Carlos Apache member Donna Cracium protests a massive copper mining project on federal land in Arizona outside the U.S. District Court on May 7, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Members of Apache and others who want to halt a massive copper mining project on federal land in Arizona gather outside the U.S. District Court on May 7, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
But the damage doesn’t end with religious freedom. The stakes extend dangerously into the geopolitical arena. The Oak Flat land transfer not only sacrifices sacred Apache ground; it hands over key American resources to none other than communist China. Since the United States lacks the infrastructure to process the copper domestically, ore extracted from Oak Flat is primed to end up under Beijing’s control. Resolution Copper’s parent company, Rio Tinto, has as its largest shareholder Chinalco, a Chinese state-owned enterprise. Picture that. America’s natural wealth being shipped off to our chief adversary at a moment when the Chinese Communist Party perpetrates economic, political, and technological warfare against us daily. This is a reckless move that compromises our economic and national security.
With the land transfer scheduled for June 16, time is running short. Congress must act decisively. The executive branch must intervene. Every tool of governance should be deployed to stop this transfer, secure Oak Flat, and uphold the principles of religious freedom and national sovereignty. Allowing this transfer to proceed would not only betray the Apaches and believers of all faiths but also strike a blow against America’s moral and strategic interests.
Apache religious symbols are posted at Oak Flat Campground on June 3, 2023, in Miami, Arizona. (AP Photo/Ty O’Neil)
What will we say about ourselves if we allow this to happen? Are we a nation that honors faith and freedom, or one that auctions them off to foreign corporate interests? China is watching, and so is history. It’s not too late to do the right thing. Protecting Oak Flat isn’t just about land or copper. It’s about who we are as a people and what we stand for as a nation. When it comes to faith, freedom, and American sovereignty, there can be no compromise.
Kenneth Blackwell is an adviser to the America First Policy Institute and the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C and president of the Council for National Policy . He is a former mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio Treasurer and Secretary of State, and a former member of the 2016 Trump transition team.
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