O'AI.KING To S>WK SA(".Ri:9 I.AWB )blether and daughter walk from Washington to Arizona in protest of f e d eral land exchange "For me, religious free› PENDLETON
It all began in
January when a mother of three who sells pinatas was browsing the web looking for p l aces to advertise her small business. A n article ti t led " O a k F l a t land giveaway" caught her eye. Little did she know that the life of he r an d h e r d a u g h t er would change dramatically with a walking journey that wou l d lead them about 1,500 miles to join hundreds of others to protest the San Carlos Apache natives losing their historic lands. Sally Noedel along with her 1 9-year-old d a u g h ter E m m a Bigongiari, and their dog Wal› d o, have b een o n a m i s s i o n since May to w al k f ro m t h eir home town of Bainbridge Island, A creek lo cated on the O ak Flatlands w here hundreds are gathered tooccupy the land. Washington to Oak Flat, Arizona to rally against the Federal Gov› ernment exchanging sacred national forest land to a foreign mining company. In December 2014 the United States Congress passed the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act, which allowed a trade of 2,422 acres of Tonto National Forest to Resolution Copper, an Australian› British mining company. In return, the government will acquire 5,300 acres of other Arizona land that is currently owned by Resolution Copper. About 1,000 feet underground of the national for› est land is a giant copper deposit. The land is home to perpetual spring water and is used as shelter by many wild animals. It also is sacred to the San Carlos Apache because it contains historic and ceremonial sites as well as traditional foods. Tribes believe the federal government is
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Sally Noedet, right, with her daughter Emma Bigongiarf, left, on Main Street during their visit to Pendleton, Oregon.
They f pp k
to bring food, water, camping supplies and other gear. To accomplish that task, the pair decided to include a p rofit f ro m w hat w i l l vehicle on their trek. The mother and daughter take gOVernment› end up as a tw o-m i le turns driving five miles ahead with the dog, to wait O-gOVernmenf, long, 1,000-foot deep for the other on foot. • > pi t - m i ne crater than in "Normally we hear about these types of events its traditional values, when it’s too late but this one is not lost yet ... we according to Theresa still have time to save this place. If we care at all for Nosie, a spokesperson for the Apache-Stronghold, what’s going to be there for our kids we have to take the name of the protest group. a stand for natural resources," said Noedel. "They took it without government-to-government conversation," N o sie said. "The tribe has publicly
itho t
conversation.’
voiced for ten years that they do not agree with any land exchange, but they [federal government ] included the land exchange into the land package of the National Defense Authorization Act, which has to pass every year." Noedel and Bigongiari say that it will take roughly three months for them to reach their destination where hundreds of protestors are occupying the land. Mem› bers of the San Carlos Apache Tribe started the Apache› Stronghold occupancy when they walked 45 miles in February from the San Carlos Reservation to Oak Flat. The traveling duo walks 15 to 20 miles a day. Be› cause thewalk covers about 1,500 miles, they needed
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an inherent human r i g h t, especially in America, and i t’s insulting t o l oo k t h e
other way." A ccordin g t o R e s o l u › tion Copper’s website, gov› e rnmen t - t o - g o v e r n m e n t c onsultation w i t h N a t i v e American tribes is part of the language in the Defense A uthor i z a t io n B i l l . T h e website also says that part of the new bill requests the U.S. Forest Service to prepare a management plan in Photo prowded by Theresa Nosie consultation with affected Native American tribes. According to N o ise, company officials aren’ t required to meet with tribal leaders and Resolu› tion Copper is putting up a front by hiring tribal members. "Only the U.S. government is supposed to have government-to-government consultation with the tribes. Nobody has ever sat down with the San Carlos Apache Tribe to work out an agreement," Nosie said. D uri n g an i n t er› v iew w i t h KCUW, the local radio s tation o n t he U m a › tilla Indian R es e r v a › tion, mother and daugh› ter said they were excited t o announce g a recently in›
called "save Oak Flat."
’Normally we hear about these types of events when it’ s too late but this one is not lost yet • . we still have time to save this place. If we care at all for what’ s oing fp be fhere for our kids we have to take a stand for natural resources.’
l an d e x› change sets precedence that it’s okay to do this to sacred sites to any tribal nation. Join us and pass a resolution from your tribe to support the repeal," said Nosie. Apache-Stronghold also is currently organizing a "spirit run" and is inviting 1,000 people to walk from Mt. Graham, Arizona to Washington, D.C. to protest in front of the Cannon Building where Senate will be in session. "Before this the longest I walked was to my
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Members of the San Carlos Apache Tribe during their 45 mile walk from their reservation to Oak Flat where they set up camp. Photo prowded by Theresa Nosie
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dom is the bi ggest issue h ere. I see it as a h u m a n rights matter and this situa› tion is an affront to religious freedom," said Bigongiari. " Freedom o f r e l i g i o n i s
Confederated Umatilla Journal
mailbox, but I’m no w c o m pelled to tell people that there’s still t i m e t o s ave t hi s p l ace," said Noedel.
July 2015