defend native lands

2007-08-26T05:36:00Z

hi folks,

you may get stuff like this all the time in your inboxes, but i
strongly encourage you to sign this online petition about stopping a
mining project that would destroy ancestral native lands in arizona.
i had the chance to meet some of the people whose lands will be
affected by this bill last summer, and they are asking for support to
help defeat these two potentially devastating and unprecedented mining
projects.

another huge thing would be to edit and fax the sample letters at the
bottom to members of the committees responsible for voting on the
bill, as well as your local senators and representatives. even one
letter can help! the turn-around time is quick--- trying to get the
letters in by august 22. you can send them as an individual or from
an organization.

thanks, and let me know if you have any questions.
-molly

Sign now to stop the mining of Sacred Tribal Land!

[please forward widely]

The San Carlos Apache Tribe in Southeast Arizona is leading a fight
against a proposed land exchange that would give the rights of
ancestral and sacred lands to a subsidiary of a multinational mining
corporation, Resolution Copper, and they are asking for our immediate
and urgent support.

Take Action Now!
1. First, Sign the petition stating that you are against the proposed
land exchange bill. Go to http://www.petitiononline.com/coop2468/
2. Send a letter to the chairman and ranking members of the Senate and
House Committees where the bills are sitting to be voted for passage
stating your opposition to the land exchange bill. A sample letter is
at available at the bottom of this email - a formatted version is also
attached.
3. Send a letter to your own representative and senator doing the
same. Feel free to use the same sample letter.
Use their local address. Scroll to bottom for California senator and
representative information.

To look up who your Congressional representatives are...

For Senate...
Others: go to www.senate.gov
On the homepage in the upper left hand corner there will be a
"SENATORS" button. Click it, and that takes you to another page that
lists all of them.
For the House of Representatives...
Go to http://www.house.gov/writerep/
This is a little more complicated because you need the zip code, and
sometimes the entire address if an area code has more than one
representative. When that happens a screen will come up that sees you
need that four digit number that comes after the five-digit zip code.
It will direct you to the US Postal Service Website (www.usps.gov)
that can give you that number. Then you just go back to the
http://www.house.gov/writerep/ page and put in that number, and it'll
give you the name and district.

Every Senator and Representative has a homepage, and it's very easy to
find the contact information for each of them. It's important to use
their local address - not their Washington DC office. All of them
have more than one local office, but generally, there is one on top of
the list that you can just use.

Background
On July 24, 2007 Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and John McCain (R-AZ)
introduced bill S. 1862, the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and
Conservation Act of 2007, in the US Senate. A related bill, H.R. 3301,
was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative
Pastor (D-AZ) on August 1, 2007. The proposed bills would, among other
things, convey federally-owned land
known as Oak Flat, Devils Canyon, and Apache Leap near Superior,
Arizona, to Resolution Copper Mining. The land sought by Resolution
Copper is believed to be worth an estimated $65 billion. That land,
however, contains sites and artifacts that are of deep spiritual,
cultural, and historic significance to the Apache and other tribes in
the region.

Resolution Copper and its parent company are responsible for other
well-documented environmental devastation and public health disasters
all over the world. In addition to destroying and desecrating land
sacred to the Apache, Yavapai, Hopi, O'Odham tribes, the proposed
mining would cause disastrous environmental damage, contaminate scarce
water supplies, destroy habitat for endangered species, and cause
massive surface damage. It would also greatly exacerbate health
problems for communities, which already include cancer clusters and
respiratory illnesses due to the surrounding mines.

The stakes are high – the passage of the bill would establish a
precedent, allowing private interests to seize land sacred to native
peoples with impunity, contributing to the cultural extinction of
Native Americans that began hundreds of years ago – solely for profit
and at great cost to the people and the environment. However, if the
bill is defeated, a different kind of precedent would be set for
Native Americans' rights to the preservation of their land, history,
sacred and religious sites, and culture and traditions.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

SAMPLE LETTER
The Honorable Jeff Bingaman, Chairman
United States Senate, Energy and Natural Resources Committee
625 Silver Avenue, SW Suite 130
Albuquerque, NM 87102
Fax: 505-346-6780

The Honorable Pete Domenici, Ranking Member
United States Senate, Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Albuquerque Plaza
201 3rd Street, NW Suite 710
Albuquerque, NM 87102
(505) 346-6720 Fax

Dear Chairman Bingaman and Ranking Member Domenici:

I am writing to voice my strong opposition bills S. 1862 and H.R.
3301, captioned the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation
Act of 2007. These bills would allow for a land exchange between
Resolution Copper and the United States Forest Service. The land
exchange would convey lands to Resolution known as Oak Flat, Apache
Leap, and Devil's Canyon near Superior, Arizona, to build and
construct an unprecedented block-caving mining operation.

The Oak Flat, Apache Leap, and Devil's Canyon areas are ancestral
lands of the Apache, Yavapai, Hopi, and O'Odham Native tribes. The
proposed mining would result in the destruction, violation, and
desecration of these sacred lands. The land exchange would prevent
these tribes from continuing important practices of religion and
culture; and, once desecrated, they can never be restored.

Resolution Copper is a subsidiary of a foreign owned company, Rio
Tinto PLC and BHP Biliton, Ltd – both of which have long and
well-documented histories of environmental abuse all over the world.
The proposed mining would deplete and contaminate already limited
water resources in the area. The areas that would be conveyed to
Resolution Copper also provides habitat for many different types of
plants, animals, and songbirds.

The proposed land exchange is opposed by six tribes in Arizona, and
unanimously opposed by the City Council of Superior because of short
term and long term devastation to their people and future generations.

We urge you to oppose S. 1862 and H.R. 3301 and any other legislation
that would convey these sacred areas to mining interests. Please take
action now to preserve the public interest of the people of Superior
and the cultural and religious heritage of Native peoples.

Sincerely,

Name

Address

Please send the same letter to the following in the House of Representatives:

The Honorable Nick J. Rahall, Chairman
U.S. House of Representatives
House Committee on Natural Resources
301 Prince St.
Beckley, WV 25801
Fax: 304-252-9803

The Honorable Don Young, House Ranking Member
U.S. House of Representatives
House Committee on Natural Resources
Peterson Tower Building
510 L St, Suite 580
Anchorage, Alaska 99501-1954
(907) 271-5950 Fax

California senator and House of Representative information:
Sen. Barbara Boxer, 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA
94111, FAX 415-956-6701
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, One Post St, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA
94104, FAX 415-393-0710

In Oakland and Berkeley, our representative is Barbara Lee:
Barbara Lee, 1301 Clay St., Suite 1000-N, Oakland, CA 94612, FAX 510-763-0370

In San Francisco, our representative is Nancy Pelosi:
Nancy Pelosi, 450 Golden Gate Ave., 14th fl., San Francisco, CA 94102,
FAX 415-861-1670

hupcollective

defend native lands