Save Oak Flat
Save Oak Flat
Photo credit: Saving Oak Flat, Arizona
Photo by Anna Jeffrey.
"Oak Flat, also known as Chi'Chil'Bidagoteel, is land sacred to the San Carlos Apache and long cherished as a campground and picnic spot. It is home to wildlife, water, and beautiful old oak trees. This land was traded away to a foreign mining company in late 2014 in a backroom, mid-night deal in Congress. The area will be turned into a destructive copper mine unless we stop this injustice." Source: Apache Stronghold literature. To find out more, visit Earthworks Save Oak Flat! and Apache Stronghold.
The accompanying photo captures Nizhoni Pike after the painting ceremony at Oak Flat, a sacred site where a new generation of Apaches are once again returning for spirital practices long denied them. Read more about this spiritual reclamation and the Sunrise Dance.
To contribute to this page—we are looking for essays, poetry, fiction, paintings, illustrations, photography, spoken words or song, etc...—please visit our Submit page and click on the appropriate category. Put "Save Oak Flat" in the title of your submission so we can quickly identify it.
By Lupe Rodarte
Photos from an inspiring rally in celebration of dignified action, self-determination, and sacred spaces.
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