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“On December 4, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Hidden in the defense bill was a package granting an illegal land swap near Superior, AZ, for the benefit of a foreign company Rio Tinto PLC who seek to mine copper. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) as part of the Senate Armed Services Committee was instrumental in pushing to get the provision language included.
All 2,400 acres are part of Apache ancestral and ceremonial lands. So although Republican lawmakers have tried for years to secure the transfer of these lands, they have always run into strong opposition from the San Carlos Apache Tribe and Democratic lawmakers and conservation advocates.
Apache leaders learned of the inclusion of the provision to the NDAA while attending—ironically—the White House Tribal Nations conference.”
– The Daily KOS, John McCain and Congress helping mining company steal ancestral, ceremonial Apache land.
“Rio Tinto has pursued the deal for a decade, and it was apparently pushed into the NDAA largely thanks to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). It passed the House once in 2011, but when leaders brought it to the floor twice last year, they couldn’t find enough votes, and pulled it. Most Democrats opposed it and growing numbers of Republicans were concerned about how it was being conducted. To many, it looked like a sweetheart deal being made outside of the regular process of dealing with federal land. And some were unhappy that the prime beneficiary, Rio Tinto, also owns a uranium mine in Africa with Iran. Others worried that most of the copper will go to China, which owns 10 percent of Rio Tinto.
The argument for the land swap — the government will acquire other lands in exchange — is economic development and jobs. The company claims it will generate $61 billion in economic activity and 3,700 direct and indirect jobs over 40 years. Opponents dispute those numbers, but Rambler is not sure they matter, even if they are accurate.
“It seems like us Apaches and other Indians care more about what this type of action does to the environment and the effects it leaves behind for us, while others tend to think more about today and the promise of jobs, but not necessarily what our creator God gave to us,” he said.”
– Huffington Post, Congress Raids Ancestral Native American Lands With Defense Bill.
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Download the 18″x24″ poster (.pdf), Indian Country 52 #52 – Reject Rio Tinto.
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Indian Country 52
Indian Country 52 is a weekly project by David Bernie that uses the medium of posters that promote issues and stories in Indian Country.
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