National Wildlife Federation Asks Administration To Discontinue Trump Policy on Oak Flat

Collin O’Mara, head of The National Wildlife Federation, sent a letter this week to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack asking the Biden Administration to discontinue a Trump policy of allowing lands sacred to the Apache to be traded to a foreign mining consortium.
 
If allowed to continue, the land swap – enacted in a midnight deal by Congress in 2014 – would turn Arizona public lands sacred in Apache religion into a copper mine. The Agriculture Department (which includes the U.S. Forest Service, which oversees the lands in the Tonto National Forest) recently urged the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the land swap.
 
O’Mara highlighted this recent action with the administration’s stated goals in a Jan. 26 presidential memorandum, “Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships.”
 
That document, signed by the president, says:
 

• “It is a priority of my Administration to make respect for Tribal sovereignty and self-governance, commitment to fulfilling Federal trust and treaty responsibilities to Tribal Nations, and regular, meaningful, and robust consultation with Tribal Nations cornerstones of Federal Indian policy.”

 

• The memorandum cites Executive Order 13175 (2000), which “charges all executive departments and agencies with engaging in regular, meaningful, and robust consultation with Tribal officials in the development of Federal policies that have Tribal implications.”  

 
President Biden concludes:
 

• “My Administration is committed to honoring Tribal sovereignty and including Tribal voices in policy deliberation that affects Tribal communities. The Federal Government has much to learn from Tribal Nations and strong communication is fundamental to a constructive relationship.”

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O’Mara notes the history of ignoring Native American concerns. Referring to the sacred lands by their Apache name, O’Mara writes: “There is no better place to start righting these wrongs than Chi’chil Biłdagoteel and no better time than now.”