Apaches ask appeals court to back bid to halt land transfer

An attorney for members of the San Carlos Apache tribe has asked the the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to back their efforts to halt the transfer of land in central Arizona they consider sacred to a copper mining company.

The attorney for Apache Stronghold said Friday the transfer would affect the survival of the Apache people. An attorney for the U.S. government responded that the land transfer must go ahead because it was part of legislation approved by Congress. The three-court panel did not immediately issue a ruling and will release a decision later.