The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to take up a challenge to a land swap enabling mining at a sacred Indigenous site, garnering pushback from conservative Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas.
A 2014 law enabled a land transfer between mining company Resolution Copper and the federal government, allowing the miner to take control of a site called Oak Flat in Arizona, which is sacred to the Western Apache.
A group called Apache Stronghold, which says it represents Apaches, other Native peoples, and non-Native allies, appealed the case to the Supreme Court, asking it to reverse a 9th Circuit decision on religious freedom grounds.
The high court declined to take up the case Tuesday without explaining its decision. However, Gorsuch issued a dissent, joined by Thomas.
The House of Representatives narrowly approved legislation Thursday to eliminate the next two years of federal...
