Published on Nov 25, 2020
“Protecting our sacred places is non-negotiable. USDA Secretary Perdue and the federal government are duty-bound to defend and preserve tribal nations' places of cultural and religious significance, including Oak Flat (Chí’chil Bi?dagoteel),” said Fawn Sharp, President of the National Congress of American Indians.
Right now, the USDA is fast-tracking the transfer of the Oak Flat area in the Tonto National Forest – a place rich with sacred, cultural, historical, and ecological significance for many tribal nations in Arizona and New Mexico – to Resolution Copper, a foreign-owned private limited liability company. If allowed to proceed, Resolution Copper will annihilate this place and the religious and cultural connections tribal nations have with it. Contact Secretary Purdue and demand that the USDA #SaveOakFlat.
· Please contact the following Trump Administration officials and urge them to save sacred Oak Flat, located in the Tonto National Forest and listed as a Traditional Cultural Property on the National Register of Historic Places, and stop the giveaway of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper, a shell limited liability company owned by foreign mining conglomerates Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, for a mine that will destroy it:
o Sonny Purdue, Secretary, USDA, agsec@usda.gov, @SecretarySonny
o Jim Hubbard, Undersecretary, National Resources and the Environment, USDA, jim.hubbard@osec.usda.gov
o Vicki Christiansen, Chief, U.S. Forest Service, USDA, vcchristiansen@fs.fed.us, (202) 205-8439
o Diane Cullo, Director, Office of Tribal Relations, USDA, diane.cullo@usda.gov, (202) 260-8259
o Douglas Hoelscher, Director, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, White House, Douglas.L.Hoelscher@who.eop.gov, @HoelscherDoug
o William Crozer, Special Assistant to the President & Deputy Director, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, White House, William.F.Crozer@who.eop.gov, (202) 881-8545, @WilliamCrozer45
o Tyler Fish, Senior Policy Advisor & Tribal Liaison, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, White House, Tyler.A.Fish@who.eop.gov, (202) 881-9014
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