Joel T. Helfrich

Since the 1870s, various government, military, mining, and scientific interests have used and abused Western Apache sacred ancestral lands. This book examines Apache struggles in Arizona for sacred places, namely Mount Graham and Oak Flat, both of which are ecological wonders. These are ongoing stories that continue to get played out in the present, yet have not received extensive scholarly study and analysis. These historic and continuing cases exemplify profound differences in worldviews, ways of knowing, values, and advocacy. Given the recent struggles to protect Indigenous lands from profit-driven environmental alterations, this book project is not only timely but also necessary.