Why people prayed outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday

Religious freedom advocates gathered to pray in front of the Supreme Court on Wednesday in support of a Native American group fighting to protect its sacred land.

The group, called the Apache Stronghold, is asking the court to hear its case, which centers on the federal government’s decision to allow copper mining in an area of Arizona known as Oak Flat.

“Oak Flat is our Mt. Sinai—the most sacred place where generations of Apache have come to connect with our Creator, our faith, and our land,” said Wendsler Nosie Sr. of Apache Stronghold in a press release from the law firm Becket. “We pray the Justices will protect Oak Flat and ensure that our place of worship is not treated differently simply because it lacks four walls and a steeple.”

Members of the Apache Stronghold claim that the mining project violates religious freedom law, including the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act , since it would permanently alter land that for centuries has been used in sacred ceremonies, thereby limiting their religious exercise.

They sued to block the government from transferring the land to a private mining company but lost at the district court level, as the Deseret News previously reported.

Earlier this year, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision, ruling that mining Oak Flat does not substantially interfere with the Apache Stronghold’s religion in the eyes of the law.

“The challenged transfer of Oak Flat for mining operations does not ‘discriminate’ against Apache Stronghold’s members, ‘penalize’ them, or deny them ‘an equal share of the rights, benefits, and privileges enjoyed by other citizens,’” the ruling said .

Apache Stronghold appealed that decision to the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

In a statement shared with the Deseret News, a spokesperson from Resolution Copper, the company behind the planned mining project, said the case “does not present any question worthy of Supreme Court review.”

“This case is about the government’s right to pursue national interests with its own land – an unremarkable and longstanding proposition that the Supreme Court and other courts have consistently reaffirmed,” the spokesperson said.

The statement continued, “The Resolution Copper project is vital to helping secure America’s energy future with a domestic supply of copper and other critical minerals. We are encouraged by the significant community support for the project, which will supply nearly one quarter of America’s copper needs, add $1 billion a year to Arizona’s economy, and create thousands of local jobs in a region where mining has played an important role for more than a century. Our dialogue with local Native American Tribes and communities will continue to shape the project, building on more than a decade of Tribal and government consultation and collaboration.”

Apache Stronghold v. United States is one of at least six religious freedom cases that have been appealed or are expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court during the 2024-25 term, as the Deseret News previously reported.

The justices have not heard a religion cases since April 2023.