Tim Nafziger worked with the SPEAK NETWORK support team in London between 2004-2005 and massively inspired us then and continues to inspire us through his radical action for Justice. Now in the USA he reflects on a recent walk and action for justice:
As a Mennonite Christian committed to peacemaking, nonviolence, and justice I have been journeying over the past two years with Apache Stronghold in their fight to save Oak Flat. Along the way, I have learned what it means to put prayer at the center of our work for justice and decolonization in the way of Jesus. I want to share with you the story of this place where the beloved community is emerging and we are all invited to be part of liberation.
Oak Flat, known in Apache as Chí’chil Biłdagoteel, sits as a mountain oasis 4,000 feet above sea level on the edge of Arizona’s Sonoran desert. Since time immemorial, it has served as a sacred place where Apache people gather for prayer, ceremonies, and to connect deeply with creation. To the Apache it is Holy Ground, a place inhabited by the Ga’an, spiritual beings the Apache liken to angels.
However, Oak Flat is now under threat from Resolution Copper, a joint venture majority-owned by Rio Tinto, infamous for their May 2020 destruction of ancient indigenous sites at Juukan Gorge in Australia. Resolution Copper plans to extract a large deposit of copper buried a mile beneath Oak Flat using “block cave” mining, an aggressive method involving extensive underground explosions and robotic harvesting. If allowed, the mining would ultimately collapse the land, creating a crater two miles wide and a thousand feet deep—utterly destroying Oak Flat.
Apache Stronghold, a coalition led by Apache elders and community leaders, has courageously stood against this threat through legal battles, public advocacy, and prayerful action. At the heart of their struggle is a profound spiritual conviction: destroying Oak Flat violates their sacred right to practice their religion.
In September 2024, Apache Stronghold petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case. Accompanying them during this significant moment, I witnessed firsthand their deep reliance on prayer. This reliance shapes every aspect of their fight for Oak Flat, including their biannual sacred runs from the San Carlos Apache Reservation to Oak Flat and Mount Graham, journeys in which the act of running together is prayer for and with these sacred places.
My involvement with Oak Flat has focused on the Chí’chil Biłdagoteel Oak Flat Accompaniment (COFA), a team formed under the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery and Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT). Our accompaniment involves more than presence; it is solidarity through prayer, advocacy, and active participation. Over two years, we have trained three cohorts of volunteers who make up COFA alongside trained members of CPT. These trained volunteers have provided over 60,000 hours of accompaniment, standing alongside Apache leaders in prayer and community mobilization.
Through COFA, I joined Apache Stronghold’s sacred runs, witnessing how they engage painful histories of genocide in ways that plant the seeds for profound spiritual renewal. These runs begin symbolically at Old San Carlos, known historically as “Hell’s Forty Acres,” a concentration camp where Apache people were forcibly relocated in the late 1800’s and where many died. Today, the run serves as an act of reclamation, retracing paths from trauma toward sacred healing at Oak Flat.
These experiences resonate deeply with our Christian tradition, particularly the narrative of Jesus’ wilderness journey. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus is driven by the Spirit into the wilderness following his baptism—a symbolic space of renewal, temptation, and spiritual clarity. Jesus repeatedly withdrew to wilderness places during his ministry, suggesting that his connection to these sacred spaces was essential to his spiritual sustenance and mission.
The parallels with Apache Stronghold are profound. As Jesus’ wilderness experiences were pivotal for his ministry of reconciliation, the Apache’s sacred runs are acts of spiritual resistance and community healing. Like John the Baptist’s call from Jerusalem into the wilderness for renewal, Apache Stronghold calls people from across traditions to journey physically and spiritually into wilderness spaces, confronting historical injustices and reconnecting deeply with God’s creation.
The Apache’s invitation challenges us not just to observe but to actively participate in God’s ongoing work of reconciliation. It calls us to reconsider how our lives intersect with colonial legacies and environmental destruction and to embody repentance through concrete acts of solidarity and justice.
In practical terms, this could mean joining Apache Stronghold on one of their sacred runs. These journeys are powerful acts of embodied prayer, solidarity, and transformation. For those unable to travel, it could mean supporting indigenous struggles closer to home, learning from local indigenous communities who steward sacred sites in the UK, actively resisting exploitative economic systems and organizing prayer events. See this toolkit for possibilities: Oak Flat – Spring Support Toolkit
Engaging deeply with indigenous-led struggles like Apache Stronghold’s challenges us to reread our scriptures with fresh eyes. The biblical prophets consistently called people back to rootedness in creation, justice, and liberation. Our participation in this struggle reawakens our Christian commitment to justice, compelling us to live out our faith with renewed integrity and humility.
This solidarity also shapes our prayers. Apache Stronghold continually reminds us of the importance of praying not just for victory in court but for the transformation of hearts, including those of political and corporate decision-makers responsible for the threat to Oak Flat. Praying in this way echoes the radical, enemy-loving call of Jesus—a distinctive mark of Christian peacemaking.
As Christians committed to peacemaking, we stand at an important crossroads. Apache Stronghold invites us to work for justice, renew our spiritual commitments, and engage practically in the restoration and protection of sacred spaces.
In this wilderness space, liberation has indeed begun. The invitation to me is clear: join this transformative journey, grounded in prayer, committed to justice, and inspired by the reconciling love of Jesus.