2025-11-05T13:00:13-08:00 2024-12-31 030483170 C E A SCHOLTES AND ASSOCIATES 106 TUNBRIDGE ROAD BALTIMORE MD 21212 990 2024-01-01 474032813 APACHE STRONGHOLD APAC 9288124821 PO BOX 766 SAN CARLOS AZ 85550 WENDSLER NOSIE SR Chairman 2025-11-05 true true CHRIS SCHOLTES CPA P01607734 4103230010 2024 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z WENDSLER NOSIE SR 291775 false X HTTP://APACHE-STRONGHOLD.COM X 2015 AZ APACHE STRONGHOLD IS A COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION OF INDIVIDUALS WHO COME TOGETHER IN UNITY TO BATTLE CONTINUED COLONIZATION, DEFEND HOLY SITES AND FREEDOM OF RELIGION, AND ARE DEDICATED TO BUILDING A BETTER COMMUNITY THROUGH NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRAMS AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT. 2 2 0 2 0 283664 291775 0 0 0 283664 291775 115000 98828 0 0 0 8305 127919 204066 242919 302894 40745 -11119 108813 97694 0 108813 97694 X APACHE STRONGHOLD IS A COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION OF INDIVIDUALS WHO COME TOGETHER IN UNITY TO BATTLE CONTINUED COLONIZATION, DEFEND HOLY SITES AND FREEDOM OF RELIGION, AND ARE DEDICATED TO BUILDING A BETTER COMMUNITY THROUGH NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRAMS AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT. false false 209167 98828 APACHE STRONGHOLD, SAN CARLOS, AZ, IS A 501C3 NONPROFIT COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION OF INDIVIDUALS WHO COME TOGETHER IN UNITY TO BATTLE CONTINUED COLONIZATION, DEFEND HOLY SITES AND FREEDOM OF RELIGION, AND ARE DEDICATED TO BUILDING A BETTER COMMUNITY THROUGH NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRAMS AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT. WE WORK FROM SAN CARLOS, AZ CONNECTING APACHES AND OTHER NATIVE AND NON-NATIVE ALLIES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. CHI'CHIL BILDAGOTEEL ALSO KNOWNS AS OAK FLAT IS A SACRED SITE FOR OUR APACHE PEOPLE AND MANY OTHER NATIVE AMERICANS. THIS IS A PLACE THAT HAS SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE A PLACE WHERE WE PRAY, COLLECT WATER AND MEDICINAL PLANTS FOR CEREMONIES, GATHER ACORNS AND OTHER FOODS, AND HONOR THOSE THAT ARE BURIED HERE. WE HAVE NEVER LOST OUT RELATIONSHIP TO CHICHIL BILDAGOTEEL, THOUGH THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, AT TIMES IN OUR HISTORY, HAS IMPRISONED US ON OUR RESERVATIONS AND NOT ALLOWED US TO COME HERE. WE HAVE ESTABLISHED AND ENCAMPMENT TO PROTECT THE HOLY GROUND AT CHICHIL BILDAGOTEEL WITH ITS FOUR CROSSES, REPRESENTING THE ENTIRE SURROUNDING SACRED AREA, INCLUDING ITS WATER, ANIMALS, OAK TREETS, AND OTHER PLANTS CENTRAL TO OUR TRIBAL IDENTITY. THE FOUR CROSSES ARE NOW PART OF THE BODY OF CHICHIL BILDAGOTEEL. 51720 Prayer Journey August 4, 2024- September 25, 2024 On July 11th, 2024, the Apache Stronghold started the journey of prayer to the Supreme Court to stop the shattering of human existence and to protect Mother Earth. We have traveled, held ceremonies and gathered prayers from Tribes, Communities, Churches, and people in support of saving Oak Flat and religious freedom and protections for all. We began in the Northwest, Westcoast, South, mid-west to the East to gather in Washington DC at the Supreme court on September 11. We are appealing a lower court ruling that would have allowed the total destruction of Oak Flat by allowing the land to be transferred to Resolution Copper, a foreign owned company, owned by BHP and Rio Tinto. We will appeal Apache Stronghold v. United States to the U.S. Supreme Court on September 11. The case involves the federal governments planned destruction of Oak Flatknown in Apache as Chi'chil Bidagoteel a sacred site where Western Apaches and other Native peoples have worshipped since time immemorial. Oak Flat is the birthplace of our religion and the site of sacred ceremonies that cannot take place anywhere else. The United States is now planning to transfer ownership of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper, a foreign-owned mining company that plans to destroy it. Resolutions mine will swallow Oak Flat in a two-mile-wide, 1,100-foot-deep crater, ending Apache religious practices forever. Our lawsuit challenges the destruction of Oak Flat as a violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), the Constitution, and the 1852 Treaty with the Western Apaches. In March, the sharply divided Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, by a 6-5 vote, ruled that the obliteration of Oak Flat does not amount to a substantial burden on our religious exercise and that the Constitution and federal civil rights laws do not apply to the governments disposition of its own land. In September, we will ask the Supreme Court to correct this ruling and hold that federal law protects Oak Flat. The stakes could not be any higher. If the Ninth Circuits ruling is allowed to stand, the United States will be allowed to destroy Oak Flat and any other sacred site with impunity. If the Supreme Court rules in our favor, it will ensure that Native Americans receive the same protection for our religious freedom that all other religious groups across the country already enjoy. 8246 Wishtoyo Light Fire Malibu CA March 28- 31 The Apache Stronghold was welcomed back to Chumash ancestral homeland at Wishtoyo Chumash Village to host the first Lighting of the Fire ceremony. Lighting of the Fire ignites all the prayers across this country to fight the greatest evil we all face. It will take the old ways of prayer and ceremony to confront the effects of colonization and capitalism. Our elders witnessed the fracturing of our people, our religion and the destruction of our greatest gift Nigosun (Mother Earth). The Apache Stronghold arrived at Wishtoyo on Friday, March 29, 2024, to prepare for the ceremony. The Lighting of the Fire ceremony began on Friday, March 29, 2024, at midnight and continued throughout the day, Saturday. Welcomed all tribes, non-natives, and allies to join us in prayer. We call upon the world to light prayer fires on the same day. This will clear the path for us to confront the greatest evil and will protect us on our join forward. One Prayer, One Drum, One Circle! 7450 9th Annual Oak Flat March/Run --February 15-18, 2024 People join in solidarity with our spiritual journey of prayer and ceremony in protection of Chi'chil Bildagoteel (Oak Flat). Each year hundreds of people walk/run together for the 45 miles from the San Carlos reservation, through the mining towns of Miami and Globe, up to Oak Flat. This walk is of spiritual importance to the Apache Stronghold and a way for us all to commit to the protection of Oak Flat each year that the mine has still not been built! Participants gather in solidarity at Oak Flat to protect all that is holy. 7245 Notre Dame November 15-17, 2024 Notre Dame filed Amicus Brief with Supreme Court Case- Created Video and shown at Notre Dame Football Game. University of Notre Dame. https://youtu.be/RPKm8XZm_6k?si=cs0Q0hyt1h7SFbNP Fighting for Religious LIberty In Arizonas Tonto National Forest, Chichil Bildagoteel, known as Oak Flat, is a sacred space for the Apache and other Native tribes. Countless generations have used the site for religious and coming-of-age ceremonies and have gathered medicinal plants and acorns from its majestic oaks. But Oak Flat is in danger. In 2014, a land swap deal offered Oak Flat to a mining company that intends to place a copper mine leaving the site unsafe for humans. Apache Stronghold, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community organization made up of Native and non-Native allies, are intent on saving Oak Flat. While the Notre Dame Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic, launched in 2020, isn't representing the Apache Stronghold, it's very supportive of its mission and has filed multiple amicus briefs in support of protection for Oak Flat. The Clinic, one of the world's leading academic institutions on the subject, is representative of Notre Dame's values. Informed by its Catholic character, the University has always supported and promoted religious liberty as a fundamental human right. Marcus Cole, the Joseph A. Matson Dean and Professor of Law at the Notre Dame Law School, is careful to note that religious liberty encompasses all faiths, and those without faith. The Religious Liberty Clinic was created because our freedom of conscience, our freedom to believe, and then live according to our beliefs, is the most important and fundamental freedom that we have. Not just as Americans, but as humans, he said. 6200 Dzil Nchaa Sian (Mt. Graham) Sacred Run July 18-21, 2024 The 33rd annual mount Graham sacred run, Apaches and supporters gathered in Eastern Arizona to honor Apache holy places by participating in the 33rd annual mount Graham sacred run. The four day long run and prayer begins at the Old San Carlos monument on the San Carlos Apache reservation and ends atop mount Graham, a sky island Oasis surrounded by a sea of the Sonora desert. The Mt Graham sacred run spotlights the ongoing occupation of the mountain by scientific pursuits by research universities and institutes including the Vatican, the University of Arizona, Ohio State University, Notre Dame, Germany's Max Planck institute and Italys Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory. 20895 290028 true true false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false true false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false true true false false false true 0 0 false 0 false false false false false false false 0 false false false false false false false X 2 2 false false false false false false false true false false false false false false false false false false X X THERESA NOSIE 9288124821 PO BOX 766 SAN CARLOS AZ 85550 WENDLSER NOSIE SR Chairman 1.00 40.00 X X 0 74945 0 LIAN BIGHORSE Secretary 1.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 74945 0 false false false 0 291775 291775 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 291775 X 98828 98828 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8305 8305 3257 3257 0 0 0 5596 5596 0 9632 9632 0 0 0 0 Prayer Journey 51721 51721 TRAILER/VEHICLE EXPENSES 32611 32611 auto/camp/trailer expenses 18717 18717 ANNUAL MARCH AND RUN 13649 13649 60578 59274 1304 302894 290028 4561 8305 108813 97694 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 108813 97694 0 0 X 108813 97694 108813 97694 108813 97694 -11119 X false false false X 216689 223074 283664 291775 1015202 0 0 216689 223074 283664 291775 1015202 141696 873506 0 0 0 1015202 X 0.00000 RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED false GAAN BIKE GOZAA PO BOX 441 PERIDOT AZ 85542 814465556 501(c)(3) 98828 0 PROGRAM SERVICES - PAYROLL 1 0 Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 11b No review was or will be conducted. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, Line 19 No documents available to the public. Form 990, Part IX, Line 24e added prayer journey: Column (A) - Total = $1293; Column (B) - Program Services = $1293; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0 Form 990, Part IX, Line 24e Appreciation dinner: Column (A) - Total = $1926; Column (B) - Program Services = $1926; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0 Form 990, Part IX, Line 24e Brandi Morin & peach: Column (A) - Total = $670; Column (B) - Program Services = $670; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0 Form 990, Part IX, Line 24e cherokee NC: Column (A) - Total = $3871; Column (B) - Program Services = $3871; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0 Form 990, Part IX, Line 24e food for large meal prep: Column (A) - Total = $6808; Column (B) - Program Services = $6808; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0 Form 990, Part IX, Line 24e Indian Country TV: Column (A) - Total = $1401; Column (B) - Program Services = $1401; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0 Form 990, Part IX, Line 24e NAU presentation: Column (A) - Total = $1511; Column (B) - Program Services = $1511; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0 Form 990, Part IX, Line 24e NCIEN Panel NC: Column (A) - Total = $3686; Column (B) - Program Services = $3686; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0 Form 990, Part IX, Line 24e Ninth Circuit court filing: Column (A) - Total = $3000; Column (B) - Program Services = $3000; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0 Form 990, Part IX, Line 24e Notre Dame: Column (A) - Total = $7245; Column (B) - Program Services = $7245; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0 Form 990, Part IX, Line 24e other prayer: Column (A) - Total = $1896; Column (B) - Program Services = $1896; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0 Form 990, Part IX, Line 24e PAYPAL FEES: Column (A) - Total = $1304; Column (B) - Program Services = $0; Column (C) - Management & General = $1304; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0 Form 990, Part IX, Line 24e Quechan celebration: Column (A) - Total = $1335; Column (B) - Program Services = $1335; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0 Form 990, Part IX, Line 24e Southern region union: Column (A) - Total = $2964; Column (B) - Program Services = $2964; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0 Form 990, Part IX, Line 24e Washington DC: Column (A) - Total = $12378; Column (B) - Program Services = $12378; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0 Form 990, Part IX, Line 24e Wishtoyo Light Fire Malibu CA: Column (A) - Total = $8246; Column (B) - Program Services = $8246; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0 Form 990, Part IX, Line 24e WSJ interview: Column (A) - Total = $695; Column (B) - Program Services = $695; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0 Form 990, Part IX, Line 24e YALE: Column (A) - Total = $349; Column (B) - Program Services = $349; Column (C) - Management & General = $0; Column (D) - Fundraising = $0 GAAN BIKE GOZAA PO BOX 766 SAN CARLOS AZ 85550 814465556 SAVING SACRED SITES AZ 501C3 10 APACHE STRONGHOLD true false true false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false GAAN BIKE GOZAA b 98828 FMV