Earlier this year, a federal judge blocked land that some Native Americans regard as sacred from being transferred to a mining company.

Yet in a move which brought sharp disagreement from Justice Neil Gorsuch, the Supreme Court is allowing that transfer to proceed. 

Land swap deal was approved by Congress in 2014

According to the Associated Press, the controversy concerns a section of eastern Arizona's Tonto National Forest known as Oak Flat.

The federal government has resolved to transfer the area to Resolution Copper, a mining firm which believes that Oak Flat contains the world's second-largest known copper deposit.

The Associated Press noted that in 2014, Congress approved an agreement under which Oak Flat would be transferred to Resolution Copper in exchange for eight parcels of land which the company owns.

However, Oak Flat is also located near the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, and some members of the San Carlos Apache have formed a group called Apache Stronghold to oppose its transfer.

Apache Stronghold is being represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit organization which takes up faith-based causes.

Justices Gorsuch and Thomas dissent

Luke Goodrich serves as vice president as well as senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and the Associated Press quoted him as saying in March that Apache Stronghold members "simply want to continue core religious practices at a sacred site that has belonged to them since before the United States existed."

"Blasting a Native American sacred site into oblivion is one of the most egregious violations of religious freedom imaginable," Goodrich insisted.

Yet an appeals court has approved the land's transfer, something which the Supreme Court announced on Tuesday that it will not review.

Justice Gorsuch criticized the decision in a dissent that was joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, writing, "Recognizing Oak Flat’s significance, the government has long protected both the land and the Apaches' access to it."

New Mexico congresswoman: "Oak Flat is sacred"

"No more. Now, the government and a mining conglomerate want to turn Oak Flat into a massive hole in the ground," Gorsuch added.

Another critic of the ruling is New Mexico Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury, who asserted in a social media post that "Oak Flat is sacred."

Oak Flat is sacred.

SCOTUS’s decision not to take up this appeal is an abrogation of the U.S. Tribal trust responsibility and basic human decency.

But, this fight is not over. We will *never* stop fighting to protect tribal lands!https://t.co/kmMsjIOaGJ

— Rep. Melanie Stansbury (@Rep_Stansbury) May 28, 2025