The Apache Stronghold group received a quiver of sacred arrows during a stop on the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community in Arizona on July 6. Photo from Facebook

Members of the San Carlos Apache Tribe and their supporters will be in New Mexico and Colorado today as part of their cross-country journey to save a sacred site from a huge copper mine in Arizona.

After a run from sacred Mt. Graham to sacred Oak Flat on Sunday, the Apache Stronghold group left Arizona on Monday. They traveled through five reservations in the state, where they were welcomed by tribal members and supporters of the effort to protect Oak Flat from the Resolution Copper mine.

The caravan will travel to the Jicarilla Apache Nation in New Mexico today before heading to Denver, Colorado. Events are being planned tomorrow in conjunction with the American Indian Movement of Colorado and the Four Winds American Indian Council.

The journey continues through South Dakota, with stops planned at two reservations, and then to Minnesota by the end of this week. From there, the caravan will head to Illinois, then Pennsylvania and onto New York by July 18.

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona), who introduced the Save Oak Flat Act, met with the caravan at a kick-off event in Tucson, Arizona, on June 30. Photo from Facebook

The caravan plans to arrive in Washington, D.C., on July 21. A sacred run will be held that day, starting at Rock Creek Park and ending in front of the White House.

The group will then march to the U.S. Capitol and hold a rally there for H.R.2811, the Save Oak Flat Act. The bill repeals Section 3003 of the National Defense Authorization Act, which authorized a land swap for the Resolution Copper mine.

A second protest will be held on July 22 at the U.S. Capitol.

Get the Story:
Native Americans Protest Proposed Arizona Copper Mine (Reuters 7/6)
Supporters Of Save Oak Flat Act Head To DC To Continue Protest (KJZZ 7/6)
Apache protest heading to D.C. (The Eastern Arizona Courier 7/5)

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