January 30, 2023
Five religious liberty law scholars say a recent ruling by a Ninth Circuit panel that an Apache nonprofit didn't provide proof that a mining project will be a substantial burden on its religious freedoms violates the tribe's First Amendment rights, as the U.S. government continues with a proposed federal land swap for a copper mine in Arizona's Tonto National Forest.
January 24, 2023
An Apache nonprofit's religious liberty challenge to a federal land swap for a copper mine in Arizona's Tonto National Forest does not meet a "bright-line rule" for a free exercise violation, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry told the Ninth Circuit, imploring the appellate court to uphold existing case law.
January 10, 2023
Native American organizations, religious minority groups and legal scholars on Monday urged the Ninth Circuit to temporarily block a federal land swap that would enable a huge copper mine on Arizona land considered sacred by an Apache tribe, arguing the court should embrace a straightforward reading of the religious freedom law to protect the site.
January 02, 2023
All eyes are on the U.S. Supreme Court as it weighs a challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act in a case that Indigenous-rights advocates say could threaten tribal sovereignty in many other areas, depending on the extent of the final ruling.
November 17, 2022
A full Ninth Circuit will consider the legality of a controversial land exchange that would help an Arizona mining company extract up to 40 billion pounds of copper ore, the court announced Thursday, giving a win to Native American activists who say the mine would destroy a sacred Indigenous site.
September 14, 2022
The National Congress of American Indians has urged the full Ninth Circuit to reconsider a panel decision allowing a federal land swap over the proposed Resolution Copper Mine, saying the decision misapplies an earlier circuit ruling and risks destroying an Indigenous sacred site.
September 07, 2022
A San Carlos Apache nonprofit has urged the full Ninth Circuit to reconsider a panel decision allowing a federal land swap the group contended would wreck its ability to worship at a sacred site, while the federal government countered that its decisions on federal land use can't be an illegal burden on the group's religious rights.
September 02, 2022
A group that advocates for religious rights asked the Ninth Circuit on Friday for a new hearing on a planned copper mine east of Phoenix, arguing that the court's previous decision misinterpreted the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
August 29, 2022
A nonprofit organization representing the San Carlos Apache tribe asked the Ninth Circuit on Friday to speed up its reconsideration of a decision earlier this year that upheld plans for a massive copper mine in Arizona, saying a delay could allow the developer to raze a sacred Apache site on that land.
August 16, 2022
The Ninth Circuit may be poised to revisit a ruling from earlier this summer that upheld plans to tap nearly 2 trillion tons of copper ore on federal land in Arizona after one of its judges asked the full appeals court to reconsider whether the project would violate a local Apache group's religious liberty.