Our shared crisis at Chich’il Biłdagoteel/Oak Flat

By HfHR Cofounder, Punya Upadhyaya

THE HINDUS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS BLOG IS A SPACE FOR A HEALTHY EXPLORATION OF IDEAS PERTINENT TO OUR MISSION. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS BLOG ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF HINDUS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS.

The quality of civilization comes from how we care for that which comes before us – and we have much to learn from First Nations and First Dwellers (Adivasis) all over the world. Hinduism has traditionally loved and adored the Earth – both as mother and as a generous provider.

An excerpt from the Bhumi Sutra (Atharva Veda XII1.4):

“To Earth belong the four directions of space

On her grows food; on her the farmer serves 

She sustains all the different beings living in Her; 

May She, the Mother Earth, bestow on us the Ray of Life present even in Food.”

As with many other First Nations, the 4 directions are critical for many forms of Apache spirituality. Note that there are at least 6 different nations – and maybe more traditions within this. Generalizations need to be very circumspect. Four directions are a common theme in many traditions including the two I know personally – the Lakota (Sichangu Brule) and Tewa (Taos Pueblo). 

Beauty is vital to the experience of the earth – and Chich’il Biłdagoteel aka Apache Leap/Oak Flat is a lush break in rough desert. “It has everything you need to live,” says Terry Rambler, the chairman of the San Carlos Apache, whose national boundary is a few miles from Oak Flat. “It has acorns, water, medicinal plants.” For centuries, the tribe has used the area for coming-of-age ceremonies and gathered acorns from the Emory oaks, a traditional food staple. Its spiritual and cultural meaning to the Western Apache is profound. And this is the land threatened by greed and bigotry.

The Poor People’s Campaign has initiated an urgent advocacy campaign in support of the Apache, who are fighting to preserve their sacred land, and have expressed how important it is to have non-native faith leaders and communities acknowledge that this is a religious rights issue. We share a letter you can sign as a faith leader: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/calling-faith-leaders-to-help-protect-oak-flat?source=direct_link&

"The Apache believe that Mount Graham is the dwelling place of mountain spirits and a source of supernatural power." — The Oak Flat by Lauren Redniss 2020  Random House 

Greed has a different system of values. In 1988 the US Supreme Court, in a wildly ethnocentric and parochial Abrahamic faith decision, wiped out protection for Native religions when they inconvenienced exploitative interests. In 1989 John McCain convened a group in the US Senate to create new law to limit these “takings” – and representatives of the Navajo, Hopi, Winnebago, Koyukon, Yurok and Native Hawaiian peoples testified, expressing resounding support for McCain’s amendment as essential legal protection for Native religious activities. In an act of stunning hypocrisy, even by political standards, in 2014 John McCain snuck a last minute rider into a defense authorization bill Sens. McCain and Flake added a rider to the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act that opened the protected land to mining. In totally unrelated news, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto (the two Australian corporations pushing the project) spent $1.3 million in lobbying (and purely coincidentally, McCain was the top recipient of their lobbying dollars). 

Hypocrisy and greed are attacking many First nations – BNHP Billiton was in trouble recently for their illegal actions with Aboriginal lands in Australia, India has multiple mining and construction projects that encroach on Adivasi lands (and are attacked for being “Naxals”), and Brazil has seen a resurgence in killings of Indigenous leaders and destruction in the Amazon under Bolsnaro’s anti-knowledge and anti-ethics approach. In this specific instance, On March 17, 2018, for example, a member of The Apache Stronghold arrived at Oak Flat to find four sacred crosses intentionally destroyed. Two of the sacred ritual symbols had been ripped from the ground, and another two were destroyed, but left in place. 

Integrity and dharma are vital to the world – are actually what comprises the Earth herself – in this picture from Nepal, she is loving and fierce, abundant and fearless, present without judgement.

When we reflect, we realize that real value of the Earth is how she sustains our quest for the Divine in so many different forms. In the Bhumi Sukta, the first verse tells us –

“Celebrating Mother Earth
The Truth (Satyam), the Cosmic Divine Law (Ritam)
the Spiritual Passion manifested in Mighty Initiations, Penances and self dedications to the search of Brahman
these have formed and sustained  Mother Earth for ages [who has supported the relentless quest for Truth in Her Bosom]
She, Who is to us the Consort of the Past and the Future (being its witness), 
May She expand our inner life in this World towards the Cosmic Life (through Her Purity and Vastness).”

Let us close with the words of Naelyn Pike, Chiricahua Apache, who has been fighting for this land since she was 13 said to Congress on March 12, 2020, 

“I still feel a strong spiritual connection to mother earth and Usen at Oak Flat. It is who I am and where I am free to be Apache. Oak Flat is where Apaches can practice our culture, to connect with our ancestors, and to live the spiritual connection to the land and Creator. It is not just the wind hitting my face or my feet hitting the ground, it is the spirits who are talking through the wind to show that they are here with us, and my feet waking up the earth, telling the spirits that we are still here, and we are still fighting, not ready to give up. When I am at Oak Flat, I see what the Creator has blessed us with and that Usen has touched this place. I feel it in my heart and understand why my great grandmother and her people fought for Oak flat and Apache Leap. That is my holy place too. Usen has touched these sacred places, and I am here to hold that.”

As Hindus who live our faith and trust in the power of Rita and Dharm – we add our voices to all calling for integrity, care, and depth.