An Arizona congressman is angry that sacred Apache land will continue to remain listed in the National Register of Historic Places, according to Tucson Weekly.

Republican Rep. Paul Gosar and Sen. John McCain had joined forces with Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick in an effort to sell off the ancestral Native American land, known as Oak Flat or Chi’chil Bildagoteel to the Apache community, to mining firm Resolution Copper, owned by an Australian-British corporation.

The designation of Oak Flat as a National Historic Place could hamper the plan to construct a copper mine on the land. But ultimately nothing “guarantees that a historic property cannot be modified or even destroyed,” said Stephanie Toothman, the National Register’s keeper, in a letter to the two lawmakers.

    

According to the New York Times, it would have been the first time in history Native American lands would have been handed over to a foreign company by Congress. The site has long been used for Apache coming-of-age ceremonies, particularly for girls.

Gosar claims it is not a holy site, despite Apache claims to it and historical evidence. “Oak Flat has never been a sacred site, as confirmed by the local tribe’s own former historian,” Gosar wrote. “Yet, Obama’s minions are hell-bent on sabotaging an important mining effort by listing a small, public campground 20 miles away from the nearest tribe’s reservation as a historic site.”

    

“Oak Flat, known to us Chi’chil Bildagoteel, has always been our connection to our Mother, our right to exist, a central part of our prayers, songs, stories and spiritual practices. It is from here that we emerged. It is who we are,” Native Elder wrote in a press release.(Via Rawstory)