by 
Ezekiel Kelly, director of the documentary about Oak Flats.
It was standing room only at a special meeting of the Superior Council where a documentary about the group Save Oak Flats was introduced.
Superior Sun
It was standing room only last week as a crowd attended a July 9 special meeting of the Superior Town Council to hear an update on the Rio Tinto legislation and some of the concerns of the people wanting to save Oak Flats. Mayor Jaime Valenzuela made it clear at the onset of the meeting that the presentation was for information only; there would be no rebuttal and no call to the public. Former Mayor and long time superior resident Roy Chavez spoke and introduced some of the people in the audience.
A preview of a documentary film, American Battle Cry, directed by filmmaker Ezekiel Kelly was shown. The film is about the fight to save Oak Flats. It talks about the concerns of environmentalists, the public and Native American tribes for whom the Oak Flats area is sacred and a large part of their culture. One scene was shot from a drone over the San Manuel mine, which showed the craters and fissures that are left by using the block caving method of mining.
Roger Featherstone gave a brief update about ongoing efforts to save Oak Flats. Roger talked about a bi-partisan bill that has been introduced in Congress to repeal the federal land exchange portion of the defense bill that passed last year. He said that the Tonto National Forest helped the San Carlos Apaches nominate Oak Flats for the National Register of Historical Places as a traditional cultural property. Oak Flats has been named as one of 11 of the most endangered historical places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. One of the other endangered sites is the Grand Canyon.
Roy Chavez said, “It ain’t over” when speaking about the fight to save Oak Flats. “It’s much greater than Superior; it’s much greater than the copper mining region; it’s much greater than the state of Arizona; people, it is taking on a power of its own!” Roy closed with the comment, “Quite honestly, money talks. Watch out what you put in your pockets, because it is about to burn you!”
The Superior Town Council was then asked if they had any questions. John Tameron was the only one with a question which was how he could get a copy of the preview. He was told that it is available on You Tube as Oak Flat and Rio Tinto: The Law, The Lies and the Queen Valley Confrontation. It can be found here.
John Hernandez lives in Oracle. He is retired and enjoys writing and traveling. He is active in the Oracle Historical Society. He covers numerous public events, researches historical features and writes business/artist profiles.
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