Indigenous People’s Day
REV DR RANDY WOODLEY
Do not begrudge the white man for coming here. Though he doesn’t know it yet, He has come to learn from us.
—A Shoshone elder
These words are written on the dedication page of Journey to Eloheh: how Indigenous values lead us to harmony and well-being by Randy and Edith Woodley.
Rev Dr Randy Woodley was born in Alabama, but he and his parents moved, during the Great Migration, from the south to Detroit, looking for work in the automobile industry. He spent most of his youth in the city, but he also learned from his Cherokee relatives the importance of living with the sacred earth.
Dr Woodley is a first-generation college graduate and a first-generation non-coal miner. He went on to earn a PhD and a Distinguished Professor of Faith and Cultural Emeritus at George Fox University/Portland Seminary. He has been called a “public intellectual, farmer, speaker, scriptwriter, activist, and wisdom keeper. “
Dr Woodley and his wife Edith are the founders of the non-profit Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth, Justice and Eloheh Farm and Seed near Portland, Oregon. They believe that creation is always teaching us and, therefore, it is our responsibility to look, listen, and live well. Eloheh (www.elohehlorg)“seeks to foster equity and justice between indigenous peoples and the wider society.” They use storytelling and music to “bridge cultural gaps and foster understanding.”
Dr Woodley teaches the exploration of the intersection of indigenous wisdom (based on the ethic of harmony, humility, and respect) , ecological sustainability, theology, and spirituality. He believes that “indigenous people understand themselves as belonging to the land, belonging to the earth. Colonizer people, (the Europeans who settled here and established political control) say the earth belongs to them, the earth belongs to them” (excerpted from an interview with Dr Woodley and Brian McLauren.)
Dr Woodley reminds us that we are all indigenous from somewhere. We need to remember that we are all related; that our history is what makes us authentically human. Start by knowing the people who originally populated your area. Learn their stories and rituals. Start going on dates with nature. As we connect with creation, Dr Woodley explains we will “connect with our creator and connect with who we are as human beings.”
As you glean from the wisdom of the earth, you will begin to realize that the way we live is not sustainable and there needs to be great change.
Becoming Rooted: One hundred Days of Reconnecting with Sacred Earth by Randy Woodley
Journey to Eloheh: How Indigenous Values Lead us to Harmony and Well-Being by Randy and Edith Woodley.
PODCASTS:
Learning How to See with Brian McLaren, season 7, episode 6: Seeing Nature as an Indigenous Person
Everything Belongs, season 3, episode4: Home Base with Rev Dr Randy Woodley
Hispanic Heritage Month Biography -Dr. Antonia Pantoja
“You cannot live a life that is lukewarm. You’ve got to live a life of commitment and passion. I mean doing, producing, thinking, and dealing with making the world a better place.” Dr. A. Pantoja
Dr. Antonia Pantoja was one of the most important leaders of the Puerto Rican Diaspora, or Puerto Ricans who immigrated to the United States throughout the 20th Century. Born outside of Old San Juan in 1922, Dr. Pantoja worked as a schoolteacher in rural Puerto Rico before finding her calling as a community organizer. Dr. Pantoja helped to bring about the implementation of bilingual in New York City public schools. She was a fierce believer in the power of education and throughout her life she promoted and pushed young people to excel in school and work towards making society a better place for all.
In 1961, as part of an effort to help improve the performance of Puerto Rican children in NYC schools, she established ASPIRA, a nonprofit organization that works with City schools to encourage high school-aged Latinos to pursue higher education while helping to improve their leadership and organizational skills. Dr. Pantoja graduated from Hunter College with a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1952, then, two years later, received her master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of Social Work. In 1973, Dr. Pantoja earned her Ph.D. from the Union Graduate School in Ohio. Over the course of her life, Dr. Pantoja received many awards and honorary degrees in recognition for her life’s work, culminating in 1996 when she became the first Puerto Rican woman to be honored with the Presidential Medal presented by President Bill Clinton. She continues to be honored for her countless contributions to education and civil rights – a number of schools across the U. S. are named after her and in recent years, she has been recognized as an important historical figure within the LGBTQ community.
Hispanic Heritage Month Biography -Cesar Chavez
Cesar Chavez (1927-1993), an American labor leader, advocated tirelessly for the fair treatment of farmworkers and his work, through the United Farm Workers Union, which he co-founded, and other organizations, led to crucial labor rights reforms. A deeply religious man, Chavez became a champion of nonviolent social change and a crusader for the poor. His work also became an important part of broader civil rights movements of the time.
*******
Chavez was born in Yuma, Arizona to Mexican-American parents. Soon after completing junior high school, he joined his parents in the fields and began working as a farm laborer, experiencing first-hand the long hours, low pay and arduous working conditions. Migrant farm workers barely earned enough to provide the basic necessities for their families while the landowners became rich on the products of their labor. This disparity greatly troubled the young Chavez who abhorred poverty, regarding it as dehumanizing. Wanting to ensure a better standard of living for the poor, Chavez devoted his career to improving the plight of migrant farm workers.
After serving in the U.S. Navy for two years, he relocated to California, married and began working in community service organizations, helping laborers to register to vote. In time, he became the director of the Community Service Organization (CSO). In 1962, after leaving the CSO, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association which would eventually merge with other similar organizations to become the United Farm Workers labor union. He also founded a credit union and a bilingual newspaper for farmworkers.
During his long career, he organized many successful strikes, boycotts, pickets, marches and fasts to pressure farm owners into meeting strikers’ demands for higher pay and more humane working conditions. Like many other civil rights leaders of his time, Chavez was greatly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s advocacy of non-violent protest. Equally important to Chavez was his Roman Catholic faith and the Church’s emphasis on personal sacrifice and service to others, especially the marginalized and the poor. He was committed to the Church’s social teachings which recognized the dignity of work, the rights of workers and the need for social justice. For many of the campaigns he led, he sought the support of Catholic organizations, especially for the farm workers’ movement, and he was often successful.
His life and leadership style were not without their critics, especially later in his career when many believed he had amassed too much power and developed an authoritarian style. At times, he strayed from his early commitment to nonviolence and broke the law by trespassing and violating injunctions. His was a complicated life, often tumultuous and controversial. But his commitment to improving working conditions, pay, and the lives of farm workers never wavered. Known for his many moving remarks, the following remains motivating today: “It is possible to become discouraged about the injustice we see everywhere. But God did not promise us that the world would be humane and just. He gives us the gift of life and allows us to choose the way we will use our limited time on earth. It is an awesome opportunity.”