How religious freedom law fails Native Americans

One of the most sacred sites in North America may soon become a copper mine. If it does, the dynamite used to extract the ore will eventually destroy the land, turning a holy place into a crater as wide as the National Mall is long.

The religious freedom protections that could save Oak Flat, which is sacred to the Western Apache people, have failed Native Americans many times before.

Judges, politicians and other leaders have refused repeatedly to accommodate tribes seeking the ability to worship in peace, said Luke Goodrich, vice...