Nestled in the Tonto National Forest is Oak Flat — home to one of the largest copper deposits on Earth. The ore could be worth a fortune to the mining companies planning to extract it.
But to many Apaches, Oak Flat’s value can’t be measured in dollars. They are connected to it — culturally and spiritually — and fighting to save it as well as the region’s rich Apache roots.
Chi’chil Biłdagoteel — the Apache name for Oak Flat — has been a gathering site for generations of Apaches. From coming-of-age and sunrise ceremonies to picking acorns underneath Emory Oak trees, it’s also where some believe angels — called the Gaan — or mountain spirits reside among minerals beneath the surface…