Openings & Closings | Opinion

Terry Rambler: San Carlos Apache Tribe won't destroy sacred site

Thursday, March 3, 2016

From left: San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman, Apache Sky Casino General Manager Christabelle Mull and Town of Mammoth Vice Mayor Frances Wickman at the groundbreaking on the Apache Sky Casino near Dudleyville, Arizona, on February 4, 2016. Photo courtesy Chairman Terry Rambler

Apache Sky Casino will not affect site of the Aravaipa Massacre of 1871
By Terry Rambler / Chairman, San Carlos Apache Tribe

Over the last several months Dale Miles, a San Carlos Apache Tribal member, has called into question both the Tribe’s stance regarding a potential copper mine at Oak Flat near Superior, and the Tribe’s construction of the new Apache Sky Casino near Dudleyville.

I respect Mr. Miles’ concern for the Tribe’s future, and his deep ties to his ancestral lands. I share his concern for our future, and I also feel a connection to my ancestral lands. But, unlike Mr. Miles, as Chairman I have an obligation to protect the ancestral lands of all of our Tribal members. Since I often speak for the Tribal government, I also have an obligation to conduct thorough research and to fact-check my points before I make public statements.

Mr. Miles opposes our new Casino partly because he thinks it shows disrespect to the site and descendants of the Aravaipa Massacre of 1871. Many of our people, including members of our Tribal Council, are closely tied to this event and to Aravaipa country. The new casino site is several miles distant from the massacre site, and separated from that site by an off-Reservation gypsum mine. A thorough survey was conducted by the Tribe to verify that construction of the new casino would not impact any Apache cultural resources. This casino will not destroy any Apache sacred sites.

The new casino will have a small footprint, and will not severely impact the hunting resources that Mr. Miles believes are threatened.

In fact, an active gypsum mine, a college campus, an RV park, a major highway, and several private homes, ranches, and farms are located much closer to the Aravaipa massacre site than the new casino.

In contrast, the proposed massive Resolution copper mine at Oak Flat that Mr. Miles fully supports will obliterate ancestral Apache lands to which many Tribal members are closely affiliated. It will completely destroy documented and active Apache sacred sites and resources.

But, Mr. Miles raises an important point. We Apache people are closely tied to our ancestral lands, even though we might live far away from them, having been relocated to the concentration camp of the San Carlos Reservation. To this day we hold our ceremonies at these important places, like Oak Flat (42 miles from San Carlos), Ash Creek (41 miles), Seneca (53 miles), and Point of Pine (63 miles). We regularly travel to Whiteriver, Cibecue, Payson, and Camp Verde for ceremonies. And we travel just as far or farther to the wild food plant and acorn harvest sites close to our hearts in our ancestral Apache homeland.

Our traditional Apache lands cover most of central and eastern Arizona. In fact, our Arizona Apache reservations cover less than one-third of this area. Within these lands are our sacred and ceremonial places (located within mountain ranges, in valleys and rivers); our traditional gathering, hunting, and farming sites; the birthplaces of our mother’s clans; and the places from which our ancestors emerged into this world.

Stories about these places are passed down through our families and are etched in our hearts forever. Some of these places have been written down by non-Tribal Historians and Anthropologists but not all of these places have been studied or written down by these non-Apache professionals.

As long as I am Chairman, and after I leave office, I will continue to fight for these lands and our places, and to advocate for sustainable and earth-friendly jobs and economic development.

Terry Rambler serves as chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe of Arizona. He is a past president of the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona and a past chairman of the Arizona Indian Gaming Association. He can be reached on Facebook.