Oak Flat Is Not a Done Deal: Why Lutherans Should Care

Protect Sacred Land and Water: No Tailings on State Trust Land

Add your name to the Sign-on Letter to Governor Hobbs by June 21, 2026.

Oak Flat — known to many Apache people as Chi’chil Biłdagoteel — is one of the most sacred places in Arizona. For generations, Apache people and other Tribal communities have gone there for prayer, ceremony, coming-of-age traditions, and connection to Creator, land, and community. Now Oak Flat is at risk of being permanently destroyed by the proposed Resolution Copper mine.

Earlier this spring, the federal government transferred Oak Flat and surrounding public land in the Tonto National Forest to Resolution Copper, clearing the way for one of the largest underground copper mines in North America. If fully developed, the mine would eventually collapse the surface of Oak Flat into a crater nearly two miles wide and more than 1,000 feet deep.

But the story is not over.

A recent sign-on letter to Governor Katie Hobbs from Tribal advocacy groups, environmental organizations, faith leaders, and community groups makes clear that Resolution Copper still needs Arizona state trust land for its proposed Skunk Camp tailings facility — the place where nearly 1.4 billion tons of toxic mining waste would be stored. The proposed facility would cover thousands of acres of state trust land in the Dripping Springs Valley and include a nearly three-mile-long, 500-foot-high dam designed to hold mining waste permanently.

That means Arizona still has a choice.

The groups signing the letter urge Governor Hobbs and the Arizona State Land Department to deny any sale, lease, or transfer of state trust land for this massive waste facility. Their argument is straightforward: state trust lands are supposed to be managed for the benefit of Arizona’s public schools and other trust beneficiaries, not converted into a permanent dumping ground that could devalue surrounding lands, threaten nearby communities, and endanger the Gila River watershed.

For Lutherans, Oak Flat is not just an “environmental issue” or a “Tribal issue.” It is a matter of religious freedom, public stewardship, care for creation, and solidarity with our neighbors.

We believe that the earth and all that is in it belongs to God. We believe public decisions should be measured not only by profit, but by their impact on people, communities, water, land, and future generations. We believe that Indigenous peoples’ sacred places deserve respect, not destruction. And we believe that when neighbors are harmed — especially communities whose voices have too often been ignored — people of faith are called to listen, learn, and speak.

The ELCA teaches that civic engagement is part of our calling as Christians. Advocacy is one way we love our neighbors in public. That does not mean every Lutheran will agree on every detail of every public policy question. But it does mean we are called to ask faithful questions: Who benefits? Who bears the risk? Whose sacred places are protected? Whose water is threatened? Whose future is being sacrificed?

In this case, the risks are profound. The proposed mine would destroy a sacred site. The proposed Skunk Camp tailings facility would store toxic waste on state trust land for generations. The project is expected to use enormous amounts of groundwater in a state already facing drought and water uncertainty. And if a tailings dam failure occurred, downstream communities and the Gila River watershed could face catastrophic harm.

Oak Flat reminds us that “development” is never neutral when it destroys what others hold sacred. Economic promises cannot erase religious harm. Copper demand cannot justify dismissing Indigenous religious practice. And state trust obligations should not be reduced to short-term transactions that leave long-term damage behind.

Lutherans in Arizona should care because Oak Flat is part of our shared moral landscape. It asks whether we will honor our Indigenous neighbors, protect water in the desert, respect sacred ground, and insist that public land decisions serve the common good.

LAMA encourages Lutherans to learn more about Oak Flat, listen to Apache leaders and Tribal advocates, and contact Governor Hobbs to urge her administration to deny any proposal that would allow Arizona state trust land to be used for the Skunk Camp tailings facility.

This is a moment for prayer, yes — and also for public witness.

Oak Flat is not a done deal. Arizona still has a choice. And people of faith still have a voice.