Tonto National Forest, Rio Tinto, and the 2014 Defense Bill
Tonto National Forest sits in central Arizona, south of the Grand Canyon and north of Phoenix. Stretching nearly three million acres, it is the fifth largest national forest in the U.S. I have never been there, or to any desert, but those who have say it is “spectacularly beautiful.” Home of foxes, coatimundis, rabbits, deer, mountain lions, ponderosa pines and saguaro cacti. Homeland of the Apache, Yavapai, Hopi, and O’odham tribes. In fact, it borders Fort Apache Reservation (site of the 1881 battle between Apache and U.S. cavalry; today still a synonym for “enemy territory”) and San Carlos Reservation, homes to a combined 28,000 indigenous people.
Arizona – the home state of Sen. John McCain, Republican. La frontera with militarized walls. Famous for its racial profiling and xenophobia (remember SB 1070?). Home to Sun Belt cities of sprawl and homogenous neighborhoods, drought, and air conditioners. The Great American West.
So what’s going on in central Arizona? This past December, amidst the flurry of the holidays, the annual National Defense Authorization Act was passed by Congress. It is considered a “must-pass” bill because, based on federal budget allotments, defense is the most important thing the U.S. does. As such, members of Congress slip things into it that never would have passed otherwise, and the esteemed Sen. John McCain seized this opportunity to sell off part of Tonto National Forest to an international mining company, Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto and its subsidiary, Resolution Copper, now own 2,400 acres of land there. Some of this acreage also happen to be directly on or adjacent to sacred Apache sites such as Apache Leap, where eighty warriors jumped to their deaths rather than surrender to federal troops, and Oak Flat, a traditional site of acorn gathering and coming-of-age ceremonies for the San Carlos Apache.
Some words on the indigenous view of land: it is fundamentally different from the colonizer’s. I write this as a colonizer because this story belongs on all platforms, but I urge looking at frontline accounts from Apache activists for a more accurate picture. From what I do understand, land is considered sacred spiritual and physical home, site of thousands of years of stories. It is conscious, granting autonomy and sustaining life. It is not simply a commodity to be built on and bought and sold, or mined and collapsed for the 5% copper that lies in the rock – Rio Tinto’s plan.
I would like to contrast this with both the environmentalist view – that land is a limited precious resource – and the cornucopian – that land can sustain unlimited extraction. Both of these viewpoints come from Western culture and are not the only ways of looking at the world. The erasure (and in some environmentalists' cases, appropriation) of indigenous views carries on the legacy of violence against natives that started with genocide and stolen land. Turning sacred sites into unstable pits of rubble and poisoned water is bold and violent.
It also turns out that essentially nobody supports Rio Tinto's plan. The tribes oppose it because it disrespects their culture and sovereignty. Environmental lobbies like Mining Law Reform oppose it for its habitat destruction and likely groundwater contamination. Labor points to Rio Tinto's model of increasing automation, subcontracting migrant workers instead of locals, and creating jobs that actually are temporary, dangerous, low wage, and without benefits. Local government officials worry that highways will reroute to avoid the mine and rural towns will be cut off from commerce. The U.S. Secretary of the Interior commented that this legislation was deeply disappointing. Even rock climbers and public lands advocates are mobilizing, saying that national forests belong to the public, not mining companies.
Some other basic issues that people have raised:
- What this project has to do with national defense is unclear to everyone.
- When Tonto National Park was established, it was considered a national treasure worthy of preservation – why not anymore? With suburban sprawl and loss of natural habitats and biodiversity, shouldn’t it be more valuable than ever?
- John McCain has been trying to pass this bill for years – and it was repeatedly rejected by Congress.
- Per the Forest Service’s motto of conservation, not preservation of national forests, mining is actually allowed on public land. So why would Rio Tinto and Senator McCain push so hard to privatize the land before mining? Are they afraid of the oversight that comes with working on public land?
- Legally, the federal government is required to consult with tribes before developing traditional territories. This was not done. So this project is literally illegal.
- This project is also illegal because it violates Apache freedom of religion by intentionally destroying sacred sites. This project is racist because it targets a specific ethnic group.
Next Steps: International Coalition Building and Decolonization
It would seem that nobody actually supports this legislation but Rio Tinto, John McCain and the irrelevant brand of right-wing corporate sell-out politicians he represents. Those who oppose it, however, come from diverse and at times conflicting perspectives, which perhaps has weakened their power to speak collectively. Maybe this is already happening, but I think they should form a contingent coalition, not only amongst each other but with people Rio Tinto has harmed around the globe. Perhaps that would stop the mining where both democracy and local community organizing have failed. An international coalition could target Rio Tinto's pocketbook and public image.
Finally, any fight against Rio Tinto and abusive politicians like John McCain must also acknowledge that the U.S. itself never had the right to Arizona in the first place. Tonto National Forest was and is indigenous land. Environmentalists, government officials, and labor need to recognize that all of their struggles are taking place in the larger context of colonization, and factor giving the land back into their work. Otherwise they will only continue supporting the system of oppression that helped create this disaster in the first place.