Statistics on the petition:
save Oak Flat/Apache Leap as a holy place for the San Carlos Apache Tribe by designating it a National Monument.
below the orange.
The struggle between mining interests and Apaches has been going on for over 450 years. The mines have always won. When necessary they can call on the Government for military might, but prefer to use the veneer of law to get what they want. Arizona law makers have bowed to corporate dictates.
In 1542 with Francisco Vasquez de Coronado. Having made a name for himself by putting down a slave revolt in the mines of Ametepeque using the old European tradition of drawing and quartering. He listened to tales from Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca about gold and emeralds in the city of Cibola and set off with a 2,000 man expedition.
When entering a native settlement Coronado read the Royal Spanish Requirement of 1513 demanding allegiance to the true God and king ending with:
Wherefore, as best we can, we ask and require you that you consider what we have said to you, and that you take the time that shall be necessary to understand and deliberate upon it, and that you acknowledge the Church as the ruler and superior of the whole world,
But if you do not do this, and maliciously make delay in it, I certify to you that, with the help of God, we shall powerfully enter into your country, and shall make war against you in all ways and manners that we can, and shall subject you to the yoke and obedience of the Church and of their highnesses; we shall take you, and your wives, and your children, and shall make slaves of them, and as such shall sell and dispose of them as their highnesses may command; and we shall take away your goods, and shall do you all the mischief and damage that we can, as to vassals who do not obey, and refuse to receive their lord, and resist and contradict him: and we protest that the deaths and losses which shall accrue from this are your fault, and not that of their highnesses, or ours, nor of these cavaliers who come with us .
The spirit of this proclamation has guided mining companies for the next four centuries.
The state of Arizona was established by and for mining. The seal of the territory was a miner. The state seal features the miner in the foreground. Ditat Deus translates God Enriches.
More on the power of the mining corporations and the petition status below.
Mining companies helped delay statehood for as long as possible.
Fearful of greater tax responsibilities - especially a bullion tax for the extraction industries - and more restrictive labor policies, the powerful absentee corporate interest staved off statehood as long as possible. One of Arizona's governors eventually noted that a Scottish mining firm operating in the territory paid more in taxes to the British Crown than to his own government.
Just before statehood the copper companies in eastern Arizona became worried that the ranchers, and farmers in Graham County would try to fund the county with taxes on the mines. They arranged to separate Greenlee County from the more populous towns around Safford and the San Carlos Reservation. Since towns could only incorporate by petition of landowners and mining company, Phelps Dodge had no use for a town council, mayor or elections and mines owned all of the land the largest population area, Morenci has always been legally a mining camp. When I grew up there is looked like a town of 5,000 people, but there was no police, only company guards.
Morenci is located at the confluence of Chase Creek, Eagle Creek and the San Francisco Rivers were Geronimo was born.
The only local organization that could potentially independent elected organization was the School Board. All of the members of the school board were Phelps Dodge The head of the safety department once said he had an employee who expressed an interest in running for the school board. He was told to tell the employee 1) You have a legal right to run for office. 2) If you run you will be fired. 3) If you are fired you can not live in a company house. 4) The company owns all the houses in the school district. 5) If you don't live in the district you can not be on the school board. He did not run.
The game is rigged.
Still, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.
State |
Signatures |
Per Representative |
Alaska |
5 |
5.0 |
Alabama |
9 |
1.3 |
Arkansas |
12 |
3.0 |
Arizona |
126 |
14.0 |
California |
226 |
4.3 |
Colorado |
56 |
8.0 |
Connecticut |
13 |
2.6 |
Washington DC |
6 |
6.0 |
Delaware |
5 |
5.0 |
Florida |
82 |
3.0 |
Georgia |
30 |
2.1 |
Hawaii |
7 |
3.5 |
Iowa |
10 |
2.5 |
Idaho |
9 |
4.5 |
Illinois |
80 |
4.4 |
Indiana |
20 |
2.2 |
Kansas |
10 |
2.5 |
Kentucky |
16 |
2.7 |
Louisiana |
10 |
1.7 |
Massachusetts |
49 |
5.4 |
Maryland |
29 |
3.6 |
Maine |
9 |
4.5 |
Michigan |
48 |
3.4 |
Minnesota |
26 |
3.3 |
Missouri |
29 |
3.6 |
Mississippi |
6 |
1.5 |
Montana |
9 |
9.0 |
North Carolina |
39 |
3.0 |
North Dakota |
0 |
0.0 |
Nebraska |
7 |
2.3 |
New Hampshire |
10 |
5.0 |
New Jersey |
34 |
2.8 |
New Mexico |
32 |
10.7 |
Nevada |
18 |
4.5 |
New York |
86 |
3.2 |
Ohio |
51 |
3.2 |
Oklahoma |
15 |
3.0 |
Oregon |
65 |
13.0 |
Pennsylvania |
65 |
3.6 |
Rhode Island |
7 |
3.5 |
South Carolina |
15 |
2.1 |
South Dakota |
3 |
3.0 |
Tennessee |
33 |
3.7 |
Texas |
114 |
3.2 |
Unknown |
221 |
n/a |
Utah |
12 |
3.0 |
Virginia |
52 |
4.7 |
Vermont |
17 |
17.0 |
Washington |
76 |
7.6 |
Wisconsin |
38 |
4.8 |
West Virginia |
8 |
2.7 |
Wyoming |
2 |
2.0 |
Puerto Rico |
1 |
1.0 |
There is no way this is getting enough signatures in 10 days to reach 100,000. It really doesn't impact enough people in there everyday lives to garner national interest.
Still I will track because I said I would.
A powerful company with millions of dollars to spend doesn't want to rule the world just to see that their own interests are served. It adds up.
Every state except Rhode Island and North Dakota had new signatures.
New ones by date July 29 thru August 10:
127 86 109 96 36 30 19 14 14 8 2 10
I demand someone from North Dakota sign the petition, is there not one righteous person there?